In Chains 1: One's Proper Place
by Higuchimon
Summary: [au: slavery; 30/30] Shou's life has taken the worst turn he can imagine, with his home destroyed and himself being trained as a slave. With escape a faint hope and no one around who cares, what chance is there that anything will get better?
1. Chapter 1

**Series Title:** In Chains|| **Story Title:** One's Proper Place  
 **Character:** Shou  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 1,113||story: 1,113|| **Chapters:** 1/30  
 **Genre:** Drama, Angst|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Challenge:** Diversity Writing, J14, multichap with chapters between 1000-2000 words; One Character Boot Camp, #42, tame  
 **Notes:** This is an AU. More will be revealed in time.  
 **Summary:** Shou's life has taken the worst turn he can imagine, with his home destroyed and himself being trained as a slave. With escape a faint hope and no one around who cares, what chance is there that anything will get better?

* * *

Shou huddled up under the ragged blanket, pressing his back against the rough stone of the cell, and hated every moment of his life that led to this.

He wanted to call his captors names. He couldn't think of any that were strong enough. Even the worst language he'd heard before didn't compare to what they did.

At least he couldn't hear the screams from in here. Not all that clearly, anyway.

He ducked his head farther down and closed his eyes. If he moved too much, all of his injuries started to flare up again and pushed the thought of sleep that much farther from his mind. But if he didn't move, he knew he'd start to stiffen up and then when they came for him again, it would be even worse.

 _Maybe I should just..._ He froze at that and shook his head, ignoring the spikes of pain that shot through it as he did. He wasn't going to give in. He wasn't going to do what they wanted him to do.

His big brother wouldn't. He didn't know where Ryou was now, not after that stranger in the white outfit bought him. But wherever he was, Shou didn't have a single doubt that he wouldn't bow down to anyone.

So neither would Shou. He wasn't the kind of warrior that Ryou was – he wasn't a warrior at all – but he could at least refuse to bow down to them and do as he was told. Even if it ended up meaning his death…

They wouldn't kill him. Shou had to believe that. His stomach churned just to think it, but he'd heard them talking about how much they'd been paid for his big brother and how much they anticipated being paid for him, and apparently the amount was enough that they didn't want to risk losing it.

It didn't mean they wouldn't hurt him. No one had bought him yet, so they didn't have a stake in keeping him unscarred.

Yeah, after the last couple of sessions, he knew that he'd be scarred anyway. His back throbbed from the last beating and his legs ached from his hips to his ankles.

They talked a lot about him even when he was there, as if he wasn't smart enough to understand what they meant. Every word remained seared into his mind.

"Are we sure they're from the same family? They're so different."

"I know, but the records we took said they are. So he should have some potential, even if we can't see it yet."

"I don't know. I think we're better off just giving him basic training and letting whoever buys him decide on anything else. Just look at him. He's not fit for the arena, no matter what we do to him."

Shou recalled seeing them staring at him after that, with the same kind of measuring gaze that he'd seen people give horses or mules to determine if they were up to a job.

"You could be right there. All right, we'll give him the basic training and if he shows any particular aptitudes, we'll work it out from there."

Their 'basic training' involved being taught – or forced – to obey any commands given. Shou put his mental foot down. He didn't care what they called him, he wasn't a slave, and he wasn't going to accept being taught like one.

It didn't matter if he closed his eyes or not, since there wasn't any light in the cell anyway. That made sense, he guessed, since who would want their prisoner to grab a candle or a lantern or even one of those useful gems that shone light and use it against the guards when they were brought out for training?

But Shou closed his eyes anyway, because it helped him to think and to remember the days not that long ago, when he'd lived in his comfortable village with his brother and his friends.

How many of them had been caught in the raid? He didn't have the faintest idea. There'd been at least four wagons of captives that he knew of and he counted himself lucky that he'd been put in the same wagon as Ryou.

Worry for his brother kept him from resisting much during the long trip from the burning village to wherever this place was.

"Let us go!" Ryou slammed toward one of the invaders, but another unleashed a whip charged with electricity, slicing into his side. A second and a third with identical weaponry surrounded him, beating him until Ryou couldn't move. Then they'd chained him up like all the other captives and tossed him into the wagon.

That hadn't been all of it, either. Any time Ryou showed the least inclination to fight back, the lightning whips came out again. Shou hadn't _noticed_ him being afraid of them, but a tiny part of him welcomed that someone took Ryou away before he could _become_ afraid of them.

 _So when do they bring them out on me?_ It wasn't a thought he anticipated, but he wouldn't have been surprised if they'd tried those things sooner or later.

He could hear noises outside now, movement of booted feet and murmurs that he couldn't understand. Was it time for food already? He had no idea of what time it was in general, since he hadn't set foot under the sun properly since being dragged in here. Just room after room, that's what he saw, over and over. No windows, either.

The door swung open and there was a single span of three breaths before two burly guards – ones he knew after the last handful of days – stalked in and grabbed him by the shoulders, sending streaks of pain all through him.

"Time for your next lesson," one of them grunted, and Shou found himself dragged out of there. This wasn't even close to the first time he'd been returned to 'lessons' without a break long enough for food or rest, and he knew it wouldn't be the last.

He didn't bother talking to them. He'd learned quickly that the guards around here were chosen for their strength, their brutality, and their complete lack of caring about anyone around them who wore the slave collar like Shou did.

This couldn't last forever, Shou tried to tell himself, as they carried him through the hallways. Either he'd find a way to escape or he'd endure what they wanted him to learn and he'd end up sold or just...something would happen. He wanted the first choice more than any of the others. And he refused to give up a scrap of hope that he would get his chance.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	2. Chapter 2

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,180||story: 2,293|| **Chapters:** 2/30

* * *

Unrelenting eyes, gray as stormclouds, stared at him as Shou's two guards brought him into the training room. Despite his anger and his fear and his grief, he hadn't given up the fight, at least not within. His guards' grip remained far too strong for him to do anything other than hang between them.

They set him down in the usual place, fastening chains onto his arms so he couldn't even think about running away. Not that he thought that he would get far if he did. There were so many guards here; he'd seen most of them while being brought in.

"I don't know why you're giving us this much trouble, boy," the trainer spoke, voice cold and unyielding. "Others accept their fate. Even your _brother_ did."

Shou drew in a sharp breath at the vaguest mention of Ryou. "Don't talk about him."

What he got for that was a quick smack across the cheek. "First, a slave only speaks when commanded to do so. Second, I will speak of who I choose. Third, refusing to admit the truth will only hurt you in the end. But we can speak of your brother another time. Today is about _you_ and what you need to do: stop pretending you are anything but an ordinary slave."

The trainer circled him slowly, each step firm and determined. "If you accept what you are and work to be the very best at what you are, then we can sell you not just for a higher price, but into a position that you could enjoy."

Shou could see a slice of a smile across thin lips and while Ryou wasn't brought up again, he could feel the words that weren't mentioned: _your brother enjoys his._

He didn't care. He didn't believe a word they had to say about Ryou and likely wouldn't have believed it even if Ryou stood in front of him and declared it himself.

"Now, we can see that you're not pretty enough for most people to desire you to warm their bed," the trainer said, standing in front of him again and giving him a very speculative look. "We haven't noticed anything magical about you, so that lets out anything to do with mages of any kind. They tend not to buy slaves anyway. At least not as apprentices."

Shou shuddered; he'd never had much to do with those who used magic, but the thought of what they might want one for conjured up images he didn't want to look at very closely.

The trainer hadn't finished, though. "Harpies or ogres might want you as a work slave. But you don't look strong enough for that, either, not for very long, and they like ones that can take some punishment."

Somehow that still wasn't making Shou any happier about all of this. Still the trainer kept going. " _Perhaps_ the vampires could find you useful. But as small as you are… well, it's something to keep in mind."

Shou shuddered visibly at that, not caring if the trainer saw. He'd met a vampire once. It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.

"I see you know vampires." The trainer chuckled. "There are still other options for you. I'd consider that a last resort. Now." Once again the trainer stood in front of Shou and stared into his eyes. "What is it that _you_ want to be? Your training will teach you not only to obey but to make use of what talents you have. You'll be so much happier if you work with what you've got. Could you have said so much for your life before? What would you have been then? A farmer? Someone's shop assistant?"

"I'd rather be one of those than someone's property!" Shou snapped. That got him another smack, the trainer as emotionless as always.

"Remember: you are a slave. What you might've been before doesn't matter."

Shou shook his head and won another reprimanding smack.

"Say it, boy. Say what you are now. Say _who_ you are now. It's your only identity. The only one that you have or need or want."

Shou lifted his head, eyes burning, pushing back all of his fear and letting only his anger show. "I'm _Marufuji Shou_! I'm not a slave! I won't ever be a slave!"

This time the trainer raised up the stock of the small whip hanging from the finely tooled leather belt and cracked it across Shou's face.

"I'd rather not bruise you too much. But we have time for you to heal, if you're going to be this stubborn. And there are other places I can beat your lessons into you if I must. Now, again. Say it. Say it right this time."

Again Shou shook his head, harder this time. He lost track of how many times the trainer insisted that he say it, only that he refused every time, no matter how often punishments fell on him. As the pain mounted, he started to lose track of what was going on around him, his head spinning, his throat dry for lack of water, tears streaking his cheeks.

"Take him back to his cell." The words swam up out of the shadows surrounding him. "I'll work more on him tomorrow. Make sure his wounds are treated and he has something to eat. We're not going to get anything out of him if he dies on us, and I'd rather not lose the money."

He didn't hear an answer, but even in his haze of pain, Shou felt himself being unchained and carried away somewhere. He groaned, fingers clutching at whoever carried him, and heard a rough bark of a laugh.

"Boy, you're getting yourself hurt for no reason at all." It wasn't a voice he recognized, but he didn't know if he could've recognized his own at that point. "Why fight so much? It's not going to do you any good. Never does. I've seen tough ones fight before. They always break in the end. Might as well just cut your losses and do what you're told. Trainer's right, you know. You figure out what you're good at, what you're good _for_ , and you can learn all about it and make a higher price when you get sold. Then you'll be _valuable_ and someone won't want to get rid of you later as much. Valuable slaves are _protected_ slaves."

Shou couldn't even drag up a groan at that. He didn't care, for two reasons. One, he refused to be a slave. Two, he hurt too much right now to care about _anything_.

"Here." The same rough voice, and now Shou found a cup or a glass of some kind held to his lips. "It'll help you with the pain, so you can eat and sleep."

If he hadn't needed it so much, Shou would've refused the painkiller and everything else. But with every bit of him aching after the trainer's attentions, he sucked it down and hoped it wouldn't take too long to work. He could use all the help that he could get.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,147||story: 3,440|| **Chapters:** 3/30

* * *

Shou didn't want to get used to the way things were. He didn't want to get used to not seeing the sun or to going back and forth from the training area. He really didn't want to get used to being in pain because he refused to give in even the lightest bit.

But he got used to it all the same.

There wasn't anything else that he could do, when that was all that happened, day after long, exhausting, pain-filled day. He got used to being fed meals that hovered between decent and not so decent. These slavers seemed convinced that taking care of their prisoners until they could be sold off would bring in the best money. Shou couldn't argue the point; he had no intentions of ever buying another person, but it kind of made – horrible – sense that if you wanted to, you'd look for someone strong and healthy.

 _Maybe I should make myself sick._ As interesting as the thought was – and it grew more so every day – he knew it wouldn't do any good. They'd just find a way to make him healthy again. These people didn't like taking losses of any kind.

Which was why they kept on 'training' him, even when he refused to learn more than he absolutely had to, and none of that was what they wanted him to learn. They wanted him to learn to be an obedient slave before they would offer him any other education.

Shou learned how not to be obedient. How to find tiny ways to get back at them, even if it was just by exhausting himself so they couldn't keep on beating him and had to send him back to his cell.

He tried to keep track of time, something else he thought they didn't want him to learn. That was a lot harder, since they never took him out of his cell when it was dark. But he decided to count every time he slept for more than a handful of hours as a day and did his best to mark it from that. He knew it wasn't _correct_ , but it gave him a place to put his mental feet.

He still wasn't certain of how long it had been before he began to hear other whispers. Slaves in training weren't allowed to associate with one another, but he listened to the guards and the trainers. What he heard sent chills down his spine.

"Brron-sama's coming? Is he looking for something in particular? Should we train someone special for him?"

"No one knows. Remember what happened the last time he made a purchase?"

Shou could hear the shuddering fear in those words and wondered what could've happened that would make _slave traders_ fear what happened to beings they considered nothing other than property. Whatever it was, they didn't elaborate on it, and Shou wasn't sure if he liked that or not. He would've liked to have some kind of what this 'Brron-sama' could be like, but he also liked sleeping…

No one told him anything about the upcoming arrival, either. As far as he could gather, that meant he wasn't considered a viable sale. He hoped. What few whispers he could overhear told him he really didn't want to belong to this guy.

He'd never yet met someone he did want to belong to, but that seemed a bit beside the point right now.

With nothing that he could do about 'Brron-sama', Shou managed with what he _could_ do: resting in his cell when he wasn't struggling to avoid being trained and 'taught his place'. He told himself over and over that this visit would pass and things would go back to whatever passed for normal around here.

He wasn't certain of how much time passed between his first awareness of this visit and when he actually heard people coming toward his cell. These weren't the usual guards or trainers. He knew their steps very well by now, and these rung in a different cadence. He stayed where he was, trying not to look as if he cared or worried about it.

The voices grew closer, but not much clearer. One of them sent a chill through him, the way that it laughed. He'd never hated a laugh as much as he did this one.

Then a voice spoke from outside of his own door. "This one has been a bit of a problem, Brron-sama. He's not really very well-trained yet and I wouldn't offer him to you at all. But you did say that you wanted to see all the merchandise."

Shou kept his head turned away, tilted up to the small slit in the back wall that let in air and nothing else. He didn't even want to see what his 'visitors' looked like.

"A stubborn one, hm?" That was the voice whose laugh he hated so much. Shou tried even harder not to look at him. "Well, let's see. Do you have any others who are worse?"

"Of course not, m'lord!" This wasn't someone that he recognized. Not a trainer or a guard, then. The owner of the whole place? That could be right. "We train our merchandise better than that."

Shou shot to his feet a heartbeat later, eyes narrowed and anger surging through him. "People aren't _merchandise!_ People shouldn't be treated like this!"

Twisted, mocking laughter pealed forth from the two standing there before one turned to the other. "What's his asking price? I think I will enjoy training him personally."

"Are you certain, Brron-sama? He's been very stubborn and we've thought about having to take stronger measures than usual."

Shou's stomach cemented itself into ice at that. Stronger measures?

"I'm quite certain." The monstrosity turned to stare at Shou through the thin slit in the cell door. "The harder they fight, the more satisfying it is to break them in the end." Brron smiled and Shou knew he would have nightmares of that face for the rest of his life. "The only problem is that the end can come far too soon for my tastes."

He looked back to the slave owner. "The price?"

"For you, Brron-sama, I will make him a gift. I couldn't ask you to pay for such trouble, even if you'll enjoy it."

Brron laughed again. "As you wish, then. Have him boxed up for the trip home."

Shou stumbled back, heart plummeting. In the blink of an eye, everything he'd tried to achieve by not learning what they wanted turned on him.

 _What do I do now?_ He couldn't bring himself to even consider being an obedient slave in the hopes Brron would be dissatisfied. But what would disobeying bring?

Too confused and bewildered to even have an idea of what to think, Shou couldn't put up a fight at all as guards entered the cell and dragged him out.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	4. Chapter 4

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,033||story: 4,473|| **Chapters:** 4/30

* * *

Brron signed the papers, taking official ownership of his newest slave. He wondered how long this one would last. He'd never owned a human slave who made it longer than a year and most of them didn't last half of that.

 _He doesn't look very strong. Just stubborn._

Brron thoroughly enjoyed the stubborn slaves. He had a very successful method that hadn't yet failed to tame one of them. Some of them resisted longer than others, but in the end, they all bowed down to him.

As would the rest of the world in due time. Brron made his plans long-term and he'd waited a long time to get as close as he had now to success.

With the paperwork dealt with and his new property boxed up in the carriage, Brron cast one quick look at the gladiator slaves in training, wondering if he should buy another one. So far no one from here stood a chance against Johan and with Johan's mission coming up soon, Brron wanted someone new to take over the position of champion.

 _I heard that Edo Phoenix has a new warrior. Perhaps I should take this 'Kaiser' from him._

Or he could challenge Phoenix for possession of Kaiser. Kaiser wouldn't be allowed to duel in his own defense, which would mean one of Phoenix's lesser gladiators would have to fight for him.

With all of those thoughts bundling through his mind, Brron made his way to his transport. He'd satisfied his desires for this trip, for the most part.

The box with the new slave in it remained silent. Or rather, the slave chained within did. Brron found himself displeased; he liked a little fight when he wanted to tame someone. Even Johan and Rune had given him a bit of a struggle in their early days, until they'd learned the manners and submission proper for their station.

Perhaps the slave was just saving his energy for later. Brron decided to look on the bright side with that.

* * *

It only took a day or two to get back to his fortress. He made certain the slave received rations of food and water, enough so that no one had to worry about the merchandise dying before they arrived at home, and spent most of the rest of his time scouting the area for potential gladiators and anyone else that might satisfy his blood lust.

Unfortunately, no one suitable for that turned up, which put Brron into an even worse mood by the time the fortress hove into sight. He flexed his fingers, ready to unleash discipline wherever necessary.

All of his servants, slaves, and warriors arrayed themselves into position as soon as the carriage rolled into the entryway. The box with the new slave was taken down from the carriage and opened up. Brron reached inside and grabbed the leash attached to the slave's collar, yanking him out.

"Welcome to your new home," he snarled, enjoying the look of terror on the human's face. "Everyone here outranks you, but you will obey only _me_. Is that understood?"

The slave's eyes darted from Brron to the others and back again, but he gave no answer. Brron disciplined him right away, with a strong hit to the face that knocked him down on the ground. The Mad King didn't let him stay there but for a moment, dragging him to his feet by the leash.

"I asked you a question, _slave_. And _that_ was a warning. I can get much, much worse."

Sweet, sweet terror flamed in the human's gray eyes and he nodded quickly. Brron decided to allow this, for the moment. Everyone had to start somewhere.

He gestured toward the two that stood closest at hand and they stepped over in near perfect time. He'd always found that amusing and encouraged it.

"These are my sons." Brron rested his free hand on the one closest to him, dressed in warrior's gear. "Johan, Champion of my arena." He raised one bony finger to indicate the other. "Rune, the chief of my household. Rune will instruct you in your new duties and has full permission to discipline you in any way that he sees fit."

Brron smirked close to the new slave. "I expect you to learn quickly, if at all. Those who fail to satisfy me have but one fate awaiting them: to _die_."

The human's eyes rounded even more. Brron couldn't have been more pleased if he'd wanted to. This was how one trained a slave: absolute fear and the threat of death hanging over their heads, not pleading nicely with the occasional punishment.

He gestured roughly toward Rune. "Take him away, have him cleaned up and put in a uniform. I expect to see him working for his dinner tonight. He'll be my personal servant. They claimed he was stubborn and refused to learn to obey. Change that for me, Rune. I know you're good at it."

Rune bowed low from the waist. "As my lord commands."

Brron tossed him the leash and Rune led the new slave out of the courtyard. The slave hurried along, too fast for Brron to get an idea of his expression, but the Mad King didn't care. Either the human would learn to bend under the yoke of his new life or Brron would have the chance to kill him.

"A stubborn one?" Johan gave him a considering look. "Is that why you bought him?"

"I didn't. The slave master gave him to me because of that stubbornness." Brron chuckled as he rested one hand on his adopted son's shoulder. "But leave him to Rune. I have other plans for you."

Johan nodded, jaw set. "Have you found someone to take my place here?"

"Not as of yet. But I have a few thoughts in mind. You may rest assured that I won't let your place remain unfilled while you're gone." Brron smiled, thinking of that mission. Johan would be so very _good_ at what he was going to do.

Brron doubted there would be anyone else in the world capable of entering into the service of Haou, seducing him into exhaustion, and then killing him. No one but _his_ son.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.

 **Note 2:** Rune is better known in anime canon as the double of Johan that Juudai met in Dark World. Here, he is Johan's twin brother.


	5. Chapter 5

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,088||story: 5,561|| **Chapters:** 5/30

* * *

Shou hated being short for a lot of reasons. Right now, chief on the list was having to hurry along behind 'Rune' as the other guided him through the twisting corridors of Brron's fortress. Rune stood at least four or five inches taller than he was, with a whipcord muscularity that made Shou decide he really didn't want to get on his bad side.

Enough remained wrong in his life without that, especially since he'd first seen Brron.

"All right." Rune stopped in a wide room and turned to give Shou a very firm look. "Let's see what we have to work with here."

Shou squared up his shoulders the best that he could and gave Rune a look right back. Most people probably would've called Rune 'pretty', given his brilliant blue-green hair and eyes and the shape of his features. Shou didn't find it impressive at all.

"First of all. Do you have a name or do we need to give you one?"

He said almost as if he didn't expect an answer. Shou dragged up what remained of his courage and spoke.

"My name is Shou. Marufuji Shou."

Rune gave him another look, this one a touch calculated and amused. "Is that so?"

"Yes."

"All right, then. If anyone around here remembers your name, they'll call you Shou more than likely. Don't expect Brron-sama to, though. He considers himself above petty things like human names."

Shou threw his shoulders back a bit. "Except for his 'sons'?"

The side of Rune's mouth quirked for a moment. "If we weren't useful to him, he wouldn't care about us, either. But that's neither here nor there tonight."

He turned to one of the cabinets lining the wall of the room, glanced back at Shun, then opened one and rummaged around in it. "You'll be expected to keep yourself clean and to let me know if you have any injuries or illnesses that need to be taken care of. Do you?"

Shou didn't trust that for a single moment. "No." He really didn't, at least not right now. But he suspected if he had anything, their idea of 'curing' him would be one he'd prefer to go without.

Rune gave him another look, as measuring as the others, then pulled out a small stack of what looked like clothes.

"Come along. You'll use the communal bathing area and you'll have a room near Brron-sama's suite. It's been cleaned since his last body servant died."

"Died or was killed?"

Shou couldn't see Rune's mouth as he followed him through more corridors. He didn't think he'd _ever_ learn his way around here.

But there was a hint of dryness to the other's tone whether he could see Rune's face or not. "Killed. He attempted to poison Brron-sama."

Shou wished that he'd succeeded. He didn't say anything, though. Perhaps it was written in his eyes or somewhere on his face or even in his silence, because Rune turned to give him a look.

"We made him eat the poison himself. It took him a day and a night to die. I wouldn't suggest it myself."

Shou held back a flinch. Instead, he asked, "What exactly is it that I'm supposed to do?" Maybe here he could find a way to escape.

"Whatever Brron-sama tells you to do and nothing else. Don't get creative. He doesn't like the idea that humans could be smarter than he is. Or better at him than anything else, either." Rune kept on walking and Shou followed in his wake. "He wanted you because you were stubborn. _Keep_ being stubborn, but not so much that he wants to kill you for it. That's if you want to live. If you want to die, then whatever you do is up to you."

Shou didn't like hearing any of that. "What does it matter to you?" He didn't trust Rune. He didn't trust anyone here. But he needed to know anyway.

"Honestly? It doesn't. I'm just here to do my job. But I get tired of training people to do the same thing over and over. If you can last a year, you'll be better than anyone else who he's had for this."

 _At least he's not telling me that it's not that bad and I should just accept the inevitable._ What he was saying wasn't that far off, but still, not quite close enough to what the trainers at the slave pens kept trying to convince him of.

Rune stopped outside of a door. "You'll bath every day. Brron-sama likes his servants to be presentable, especially if company arrives."

That did absolutely nothing to make Shou relax any. But going through the door and seeing a communal bath helped a little. There wasn't anyone there, which encouraged him to get moving to get cleaned up, while Rune found himself a seat and kept on with his instructions.

"You'll be given a companion who will guide you through the fortress until you learn it for yourself. They'll also make sure that you wake up in time for your duties. I don't advise trying to sleep in."

Shou scrubbed as much as he could; the slave pens hadn't had much in the way of sanitary facilities. Cold water and that was it, and he'd still scrubbed whenever he could, trying to keep clean. But there wasn't anything like good hot water.

"You'll serve him his meals and then return to the kitchen for your own. Don't expect a whole lot until you've been around long enough to get on his good side. He'll make sure you have enough so you don't pass out from lack of food but that's about it." Rune gave Shou another one of those looks. "If you want to try to buy your own, that's something else I don't recommend. You're not supposed to have any money and you shouldn't have anything that you could barter with."

If Shou hadn't been busy paying strict attention, he might've missed the faint stress on some of those words. _I_ _ **shouldn't**_ _have anything to barter with?_

Shouldn't didn't mean that he wouldn't or couldn't. He'd have to keep his eyes open. The idea of finding some lost valuable trinket and trading it for his freedom danced in front of his eyes for a few seconds before he shoved it out of the way. He would have to get his freedom the hard way.

 _Brron wanted me because I'm stubborn. Well, he's going to find out just how stubborn I really am._

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	6. Chapter 6

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,105||story: 6,666|| **Chapters:** 6/30

* * *

Brron looked forward to tonight's dinner. Not only did they celebrate the beginning of his final strike against Haou – the idiot – but he had a chance to test out his new slave and see just how stubborn he could really be. This would be a true test; he wouldn't kill his new possession on the very first night, not unless he attempted something ridiculous like poisoning Brron.

Now, the second night held no such promises. But the first, the slave could breathe easily. Presuming Rune remembered to tell him that.

Brron hoped he wouldn't. The higher the stress, the more he enjoyed watching his slaves.

Soon enough dinner rolled around and those honored to eat at Brron's table gathered for it. As always, Johan sat at his right hand, his attention fixed vaguely into the distance, likely planning the beginning of his first encounter with Haou. All rumors had it that the other warlord scarcely spoke a word save in command and Johan did have a taste for talk. Brron wished he could watch this unroll in person.

One by one the servants and slaves who tended to the table and the needs of those at it emerged, spreading out to fill dishes and cups as each person at the table requested. The new slave approached Brron, now properly garbed as Brron's property, and bent his head, shoulders tight and voice strained.

"What do you wish to eat?" There wasn't enough respect in the voice, but plenty of terror and fear. Brron decided it would pass muster for the moment.

"Bring me roast and some of those vegetables," Brron ordered, then tapped his cup against the table. "And fill my cup up, now!"

The slave scurried to obey, though with enough reluctance and tension that Brron knew he'd been well warned about tripping his master's temper in the wrong ways. His stubbornness hadn't been a lie. He just held it in check.

 _He's probably planning ways to escape. Or to kill me._ Brron had dealt with enough slaves over the years to expect such actions from them, no matter how stubborn they thought themselves or how obedient they were at any point. Some of the stubborn ones pretended to obedience, thinking this would get him off his guard.

Fool's thinking. Brron trusted no one, no matter how cowed they were. Even his 'sons' he played against one another, to keep their loyalty focused where it should be.

And if not loyalty, then obedience. He would take that.

The slave attended to his duties rapidly, hands shaking enough that some of the wine spilled, and Brron swatted him for that.

"This is _imported_. Don't waste it," he growled. That was also one of the reasons he wanted Haou's territory for his own. Once he had that under his control, the finer wines of the region would belong to him.

He wished he didn't have to worry about politics so much. He would much prefer spending his days watching fools dance and die in the arena for his pleasure than anything else. But at least he wouldn't have to play politics with Haou for much longer.

* * *

With every passing moment, Shou wanted to be here less and less. He'd never wanted to be here at all, but the longer he was, the less he _did_. He wasn't sure if a desire could go into the negatives, but if it could, this was doing it.

Once he'd put Brron's food in front of him and got waved back out of the way, he rubbed his face where he'd been hit. It hadn't looked like more than a casual strike for Brron, but Shou had a pretty good feeling it was going to bruise.

 _All right. Now what can I do?_ There wasn't much. He apparently wasn't yet allowed to go back for his own food. He guessed that would be after the main meal itself was over with, so Brron wouldn't have to do without his services for so much as a moment. Shou didn't care; he didn't think he had much of an appetite right now anyway. Being knocked around like this didn't do much for him.

What he could do was watch, he decided. Learn the ways of this place and everyone around here. He'd always done his best learning by watching others, and this shouldn't be that much different.

He wondered when he would be given his 'guide', the one Rune mentioned. What would his guide even be? Probably a monster of some kind, since Brron apparently disliked humans that much. That left a wide range of options and none of them were anything that Shou could imagine wanting to hang out with on a regular basis.

 _I bet it's some kind of little imp or something._ He'd seen a couple of those wandering around the hallways already. The looks some of them shot his way sent chills down his spine as much as Brron did. Sometimes even more, since he had at least a _mild_ reassurance that Brron wouldn't outright kill him for absolutely nothing. The looks he got from those imps made him wonder if they'd kill him just to see him die.

He cast a quick glance up to the sky; after all the time he'd spent in the slave training area, just seeing it was a pleasure he didn't want to give up any time soon. He'd never been much of an outdoors person, until he hadn't been given a chance to choose if he went out in it or not.

 _I wonder where nii-sama is._ He missed Ryou more than he'd ever thought possible, more than he'd missed the sky and the stars and the free wind. Had he undergone his own kind of tortours training? Had that stranger treated him well? Sometimes it could happen, he thought. He wasn't sure, but he wanted to think it did and he wanted to think it happened to his brother, if it couldn't happen to him.

 _Ryou's even more stubborn than me. If that guy didn't want someone stubborn… he could've sold him again already._ More chills crept down Shou's spine and he couldn't hold back a shudder.

Escaping held an allure he wouldn't deny, and not just for his own sake. He wanted to find his brother and make certain that he was all right.

"You! Slave!" Brron's voice ripped through his musings. "Get over here and bring me more food!"

Shou sighed only for a moment before he hurried back to his duties. Escape might be on the menu for the future, but for now, he had work to do.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	7. Chapter 7

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,266||story: 7,932|| **Chapters:** 7/30

* * *

Rune tapped on Johan's door and waited only long enough to hear a quiet murmur from the other side before he slipped through, closing and locking it behind him. It wasn't likely that anyone would try to visit either of them at this hour, but neither of them wanted to take a chance.

Johan sat by his window, Ruby Carbuncle on his lap, one hand going over her back and shoulders. His eyes remained distant and Rune suspected he knew the subject of his twin's thoughts.

"How long do you think it will take?" A second chair sat next to Johan's and Rune made himself comfortable there.

"Not long. Maybe a month or so. I could do it faster, but we don't want him to suspect anything." Johan offered a tiny smile to his brother. "We've put too much into this for that."

"I know." Rune didn't bother looking out of the window. He knew what he'd see and he'd seen enough of this fortress and everything around it. "I'll miss you."

Johan waved his free hand, his smile widening a bit. "You'll be fine. You've got that new kid to worry about."

Rune sniffed. "He's probably going to try escaping before you get back. He's got that look in his eyes."

"Try not to let him. The less trouble we've got around here while I'm gone, the better."

He let out a long sigh. "He's sending someone for the challenge tomorrow. He told me after dinner that he's decided on taking that new warrior."

"The Kaiser? The one who belongs to Edo Phoenix?" Rune did not like the sound of that. The Kaiser's reputation had only begun to spread throughout the land in the last few weeks. No one even knew what his real name was, only that he fought in deadly earnest and his skills were unmatched. Even Edo Phoenix himself, a former gladiator, would be hard put to defeat him, or so rumor said.

Which was probably why the young lord kept the Kaiser as his champion in the first place. If you couldn't beat them, make certain they joined you.

It was the same policy Brron lived with and kept them under, after all.

"That's right. I haven't been able to find anyone who has actually seen him fight though." Johan brought his gaze up to meet Rune's eyes. "Brron will make sure that the fight happens here. Send me a message if there's anything that I need to know once it's over."

"Right." Rune had several people he could trust with that, who would gladly risk their lives to keep communication between himself and his twin. He just didn't want them to actually do it. "Do you know who will fight him? You can't do it."

"I don't think he's decided. But it will have to be someone from the army. There's no one else who would really stand a chance."

Rune couldn't disagree. Johan held the position of champion not just for being Brron's adopted son, but the strongest fighter that they'd seen here in years. Finding someone strong enough to take his place would not be easy.

"What do you think the Kaiser's odds are of winning?" Rune wondered. He wasn't as good at fighting as his brother. In point of fact, he was absolutely hopeless at it, which was why Johan fought and Rune took care of household matters.

"Haven't seen him fight myself," Johan reminded his twin, "but from the stories I've heard, he can be absolutely ruthless. Some people even call him Hell Kaiser because of it."

The sides of Rune's mouth lifted into something somewhat like a smile. "That's getting a little dramatic, isn't it?"

"Watch him fight and let me know?" Johan suggested, mirroring Rune's smile as he did. He shifted around, letting himself relax, still petting Ruby Carbuncle. "I want all of this to be over, Rune. _All_ of it."

"So do I. But we don't have much longer to wait." He reached over to rest a hand on Johan's shoulder. "Just relax."

"Easy for you to say." Johan closed his eyes for a few seconds. Rune let him rest; he would need all the strength that he could muster for the mission to come.

* * *

Shou curled himself up in the tiny room – which he thought really resembled a closet more than anything else – and stared at the slip of moonlight filtering in from the handspan's worth of an opening high in the wall. Not enough to call a window by any means, but it let in air and light, and that would be enough.

 _Where could I go if I ran away from here?_ Not if, he corrected himself a heartbeat later. But when. When, because it would happen. It had to happen.

He didn't know a lot about the world outside of his village. It had been a small place, tucked away from most of the rest of the world, and very few people moved in or out of there. So far as he knew, his family had lived there for generations, each as content as the one before it.

Ryou wanted to change that, Shou recalled. He'd wanted to go out into the world and find a place for himself out there. The village was too small for him. That was why he'd taught himself how to duel.

 _There weren't any real opponents for him there. Hardly anyone he could learn anything against._

Maybe now that they _were_ out in the wide world – against their will but there anyway – Ryou would have the chance he'd always wanted. Shou refused to let that bit of hope slide away from him.

But it still didn't tell him where he could go. He'd heard only a few things about the people who controlled matters out here, and nothing of what he heard made him any more certain that he could find a place to live safely. He didn't even know if he could live on his own, but he wanted the chance to try.

Thoughts of home – home that didn't exist anymore – slipped and danced through his mind as he stared up above. The cottage he and Ryou lived in had been all one room, with beds in two different corners for the two of them. Their windows had been openings in the walls, nothing more, with hay they could stuff into the openings when winter came.

It hadn't been the best place to grow up. The Marufujis hadn't been the wealthiest people in the village, after all. But it had been _home_ and he missed it with a rawness he didn't think would ever fade. He just didn't think about it as often sometimes.

Images only slightly blurred by the passage of weeks since the village's destruction joined the memories of the one-street village and the rough-built cottage. All of his neighbors, the few friends he still had from his childhood – where would Kenzan be now? Had he been captured? If he'd been in one of the other slave carts, Shou wouldn't have seen him. He just didn't know! - flitted through his thoughts.

 _You'll never see them again,_ he hissed to himself, stomping down on the thoughts with a sudden jolt of fury. _And if you don't watch yourself, you'll never get out of here. So pay attention and get out when you can._

He pulled the blanket he'd been provided with over his head and slammed his eyes shut. He was going to sleep. He was going to wake up and start watching. And he would get out of there.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	8. Chapter 8

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,079||story: 9,011|| **Chapters:** 8/30

* * *

Shou very quickly learned one major difference between being at the slave training camp and being in Brron's service. The camp wanted him to learn, to become more valuable. Brron wanted him to _suffer_. He'd paid nothing at all for him and his only investment in Shou was how much Shou could entertain him.

 _Maybe I should've stuck around there a bit longer._

He wasn't convinced of that; doing so could have ended him up here, or in one of the other courts he began to learn about as he paid attention to what happened around Brron. Everything he heard about _those_ made him wonder if he wasn't better off here anyway.

The longer he stayed, the more he began to see his way through to having days that didn't end in pain of some kind or other.

Which wasn't easy, even as he learned more. He learned to leap to Brron's lightest command and to anticipate what could be asked of him before Brron actually formed the order. Bringing meals wasn't that difficult; Brron didn't have much variety at his table and with some attention, Shou figured out what he was likely to want the most, and brought it to him.

The rest of his duties weren't especially _difficult_ , in the sense of being impossible to carry out. He brought fresh towels and soaps when Brron chose to wash. He carried messages to other parts of the fortress, though that wasn't a regular thing. Brron seldom trusted anyone with anything very sensitive anyway.

What ended up being hardest of all – and Shou realized he wasn't surprised by this – was having to deal with his 'companion', who showed up on the second day of his tenure as Brron's personal servant.

"So you're Brron-sama's new punching bag," the Imp said, lurking in the shadows and giving him a once-over. "Bet you don't last too long."

"Hello to you too," Shou grumbled. He'd been up since before the crack of dawn, scrubbing Brron's quarters down. There wasn't any need for him to do this; there were other servants whose task it was to keep their lord's rooms spotless. But Brron gave an order and Shou knew even then that denying it would mean pain he refused to put up with.

There was such a difference in refusing to go along with lessons and refusing to go along with orders. Especially when Brron could have him beheaded with a single word.

Imp just laughed at him. "I'm here to make sure that you don't get lost. I know this place like the back of my hand and if you _do_ get lost, it's going to be on me, so you can trust me."

Shou looked up from his scrubbing, pushed his hair from where it fell into his eyes, and didn't believe a word of it.

"Do I have a choice?" He wanted choices above and beyond which scrub brush he used to get stains out of the flagstones. He didn't want to know what caused those stains.

Imp laughed again. Shou quickly hated the sound of it. "Nope, not really."

Shou bent back to his work, determined to finish this as soon as possible. He'd never liked the cleaning chores when he was at home and those had been easy compared to this. Scrubbing stone floors definitely outranked sweeping off wooden ones for exhaustion and back-breaking labor.

He heard footsteps. Very familiar ones already, because there were few beings who sounded like Brron did when he walked over stone. He kept his attention focused on his work, wanting Brron to ignore him and keep on with whatever else he had in mind to do, so long as it wasn't bothering Shou himself.

"You missed a spot," Brron said and before Shou could even look to see if he were pointing somewhere, one bony foot landed in the young human's side, sending him rolling. Shou found himself slammed against the wall, the bucket of soapy water crashing next to him, spilling all over the floor. "Clumsy fool! If you'd been paying attention to your master, that wouldn't have happened!"

"But I -" Shou's words ended up being choked off as Brron wrapped thin, skeletal fingers around his neck and lifted him into the air. His feet beat a tattoo against the wall when Brron slammed him into it.

"You are stubborn. But remember this: you are my property. I can have you disposed of at any time I see fit, and there are far worse fates than death." Brron's lips parted in an expression that no one would've ever considered a smile. "If you want to find out what they are, then defy me, _human_."

Shou wanted to do it. Shou wanted to find the nearest weapon that he could and shove it through Brron and twist it until all he could hear were screams.

He'd never, ever wanted to do that to anyone else in his life. Always his big brother fought, while he found other ways to deal with problems, usually involving avoiding them.

Avoiding them wasn't possible now. Brron's fingers tightened and Shou gasped for breath, feet beating and arms flailing.

Then the monster dropped him down to the ground and kicked him again. "Clean this mess up and get ready to serve at my table. You'll have no food today for your inattention."

Shou wanted to protest how unfair this all was. If he'd had breath to speak with, he might've choked out a few words. But by the time he did, he and Imp alone remained in the room.

Imp strolled over to him and poked him with one long finger. "You got off light, kid. I think he likes you."

Shou stared in disbelief before he started to get to his feet. In one moment, all of his hopes and dreams of defiance and running away tottered in the shakiest of foundations.

 _Ryou wouldn't put up with this. Ryou would already have killed him._

Shou wasn't his brother by any means. He never could be. Ever since coming here, he'd wanted to escape and that hadn't changed. It wouldn't change.

 _But how can I, when I've got Imp watching me, and Brron is probably going to beat me just because I'm here?_

Ryou would call it an obstacle. Ryou would find a way around it. And while Shou wasn't his brother, maybe he could learn a few things. Even if Ryou wasn't there to teach them.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	9. Chapter 9

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,194||story: 10,205|| **Chapters:** 9/30

* * *

Shou tried to keep his eyes open. With as exhausted as he was after all the work Brron had put him through over the last two weeks, that turned out much harder than he would've thought it. Once certain that no one important was watching him – Imp didn't count, he didn't care what Shou did as long as he didn't get lost in Brron's fortress – he slid one hand under the sleeve of his tunic and pinched until he felt certain he'd stay awake a little longer.

But Imp did see him, even if he didn't care, and snickered softly, not enough to interrupt Brron's business – Imp could be punished as much as Shou was – but he knew Shou would hear him. Claws dug into the side of Shou's neck, not quite enough to draw blood, but enough to hurt.

"If that's what you want," Imp hissed, "then I can do that for you all day."

Shou shot him the best annoyed glare that he could. His glares weren't anywhere on his brother's level. But he gave it his best anyway.

Imp snickered a bit more before he turned his attention back to what was going on in the arena before them. Brron spent most of his time in here, watching warriors and duelists war against one another. From what he'd heard in these last fourteen or so days, Shou knew that Brron wanted to have someone else in the position of Champion, the task Johan held before he went on his mission to Haou. So far, no one either pleased Brron enough or survived long enough to assume the position.

It didn't look as if anyone currently sparring down there today would change that, either. Two common warriors, fighting it out, one with a sword, the other an axe, and neither showed any real skill above and beyond the ordinary.

 _Big brother was so much better than this._ Thinking about Ryou kept Shou going most of the time. He couldn't guess what his brother might do in this situation, except be brave and fight with all of his strength. _But I don't want him here._

Even if Ryou could take on every one of Brron's warriors or duelists, Shou just didn't want to see him there. The whole idea gave him shudders.

"Boy!" Brron snapped, and Shou snapped to attention, reaching for the carafe of wine and the cup to pour it into. Brron seldom asked for anything else while he watched the arena games.

He accepted the cup, but instead of looking back at the warriors, now dragging themselves out of the arena and to the headsman's axe, Brron met Shou's eyes. Shou dropped his gaze at once, knowing better than to look at that hellish face.

Bruises scattered all over his body, at least two dozen from the beating he'd experienced the day before, taught him that.

"Do you know of any decent fighters anywhere?" Brron demanded. Shou blinked, trying to process that, and only having a moment before the monstrous being before him backhanded him. "Answer me when I speak to you!"

Shou picked himself up without a word of protest. His first serious beating here had been when he'd protested being reprimanded at all. He knew better now. He didn't like it, but he knew it. His shoulders tensed as he kept his gaze down on the floor, as was 'proper'.

"My brother was a wonderful fighter," Shou murmured. "But I don't know where he is now. Someone bought him before I arrived at the training place. I haven't seen him since then."

He tried not to stay too tense; he'd hurt less if he could roll with the hit if it happened, and it was harder to roll if he were all tensed up.

Brron grumbled something Shou couldn't understand, then shoved him on the shoulder. "Get out of here, idiot. But be ready for dinner duties. Leave the wine here."

"Yes, master," Shou muttered the words that he hated the most to say, moving quickly out of the way and down to where he knew Rune would be at this time of day. He could feel blood trickling down his cheek, and wiped it away without much thought.

Imp hung on Shou's shoulder again. Even before they'd met, he clearly mastered the art of avoiding being punished when his assigned person suffered.

"You really need to learn how to answer faster," Imp said, claws tracing a random pattern across Shou's neck. "Better yet, figure out what he's thinking and answer before he can ask."

Shou shook his head with a faint snort. "Then he'd hit me for trying to outguess him."

"Probably so," Imp agreed. Shou didn't know how much he weighed, but he wished Imp would _not_ hang on like he did. He had to get used to it, but that didn't mean he liked it.

He stopped in front of Rune's door and raised one hand to knock. Before he could, though, he stopped, hearing voices from inside. He recognized one as Rune's, but the other… that couldn't be Johan, could it? Seized by curiosity, he listened in silence, wondering what was going on here.

"He got the answer back from Edo yesterday. He's been going through his warriors trying to find someone he thinks can beat Hell Kaiser. Still no one, though." That was Rune.

"I'm not surprised." That was Johan. Shou squeezed his eyes shut, waved Imp quiet when the other drew breath to speak, and listened. "I've heard more about Kaiser here. Anyone who thinks they can defeat him learns fast they can't. They say that Edo did it after he bought him, but it was a private fight, so it might not have even happened."

"Right. Well, if you learn anything else, let me know." A pause, and Rune's tone wasn't one Shou had ever heard before. "So how are you and _him_ doing? Enjoying your mission?"

And he'd doubly never heard Johan's voice sputtering like he did now before. "Rune! This is business! I'm not here to have fun!"

"But that doesn't mean you're not having fun, does it?" Rune chuckled, hints of mischief Shou hadn't ever imagined he could have in the sound. "Tell him I said hello."

Shou tried to wrap his brain around what he was hearing, only realizing that he didn't have the full information that would've let him. Instead, he straightened himself up and knocked on the door, trying his best to look as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Listening, he could hear a tiny scrape, as of a drawer being shut, and then steady footsteps across the room, until Rune opened the door. He frowned down at Shou for a moment before he sighed.

"Come on in. What happened this time?"

"I didn't answer him fast enough," Shou replied, following Rune over to where he tended to wounds, injuries, and beatings. Rune nodded, as perfectly neutral as he always was.

As much as Shou tried, he couldn't find anything that would explain why he'd heard Johan's voice in there. Had it been magic of some kind? And if so, what kind… and why?

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	10. Chapter 10

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,113||story: 11,318|| **Chapters:** 10/30

* * *

Word spread fast, especially since no one actually tried to keep it a secret. If anything, the telling grew from moment to moment and from mouth to ear. But Shou heard the original message and tried not to listen too much to the others. Brron didn't react well when he listened to rumors more than he listened to _Brron_.

But the basic truth was this: Edo Phoenix and his Champion, Hell Kaiser, would arrive at the fortress in another handful of days. There, Hell Kaiser would fight against whichever of Brron's people thought they were up to the task of defeating this amazing warrior and duelist. What tales could be found about him – and they were few indeed – said that he excelled at both dueling and combat, and had brought many to defeat, while only tasting it at his master's hands.

Shou, in complete truth, didn't care. All this visit meant to him was that he would have to be on even better behavior than he'd been already. Brron wouldn't hesitate to have him executed, and likely planned to brag about 'breaking' his stubbornness.

 _I don't think so._ Shou just buried it a little deeper, gritted his teeth together, and bided his time. Sooner or later something would give somewhere, and Shou refused to let it be him. Brron would go on a trip without him. Brron would be distracted by some sort of problem.

Anything that meant Brron wasn't watching him, and he could get out of there. It would have to be after he didn't need Imp to guide him through the fortress, since the wily creature hung by him otherwise. But once it happened… once the perfect chance arrived… he'd take it.

Until then, he did as he was told, keeping his defiance simmering so that Brron wouldn't start 'getting bored' of him and consider just having him killed. He didn't think being sold was an option.

 _And even if it was, whoever he sold me to would probably be worse than he is about keeping me from running off._ Like it or not, he had a reputation, though one made more from stubbornness than attempts to get out of there.

There were too many factors for Shou to even think about, so he kept to what he could be certain of: there would come a time when Brron's watchfulness slipped. That would be it.

But that moment wasn't now, not with Edo Phoenix and his entourage moving ever closer toward the fortress. Servants and slaves freshened the quarters chosen for the young lord and the warriors sparred amongst themselves in every possible, searching for whoever could be the strongest to stand up to the Kaiser.

Shou stayed by Brron's side and brought him anything necessary or wanted. Imp showed him quicker ways to get through the fortress, increasing his response time, which made Brron a little more pleased with him. Not very much; Shou thought that Brron made a point to never be very pleased with anyone. Not a day passed when he didn't end up with a bruise of some kind somewhere on him, with or without a reason.

 _I think his reason is just because he can,_ Shou considered as he rubbed a salve provided by Rune over his latest bruises. He kept a supply now in his tiny room, since Rune didn't always have time to take care of everything Shou turned up with.

He hadn't yet heard Rune talking to Johan again, nor had there been any public messages from Johan. If he hadn't heard Johan's voice so clear, he would've chalked it up to some kind of trick of some kind, perhaps a bird imitating Johan's voice, or a spirit doing the same.

Rune didn't act in any way as if he were doing something that he shouldn't, either. He instructed Shou in the finer details of his duties and tended Shou's injuries, sometimes bringing him to the Holy Elf Heather, who took care of anything more than a few bruises and cuts.

Shou liked Heather. She didn't look down on anyone, and at times, he thought he saw her giving very stern and displeased looks in Brron's general direction. She never _said_ anything, but it was enough ha the wondered if he could broach the idea of escape to her and maybe find an ally.

A few other slaves passed through Brron's fortress before Edo Phoenix's arrival. Shou even recognized one or two as being from his own village. Somehow, Mototani didn't look quite as high-bred and arrogant when his tasks consisted of more than lounging around looking attractive.

While he'd seen people that he knew, he hadn't yet run across anyone that he _knew_. No sign of Kenzan or Rei, Martin or Alice. Shou could not have been more grateful for that. Bad enough this happened to him. He wanted his friends to be safe, if they could be.

He didn't get as much chance to think about who he saw or didn't see as he hoped. At last Edo and his entourage arrived, and as Brron's personal slave, Shou got himself cleaned up and in what passed for his best outfit – a tunic of a bit finer weave than normal and that was it – and stood beside Brron, silent, all of his bruises either healed or where they couldn't be seen by a casual glance.

Light gleamed off of metal in the distance and Shou's first thought was that it was armor or a carriage or something of that sort. But it drew closer, and slowly it dawned on him that it was sunlight gleaming off of metallic scales.

Shou's throat dried up. He didn't think he could've said a word if his life depended on it.

At first he didn't want to believe it. But they drew ever closer and now he could recognize those scales as belonging to one of the great Cyber Dragons, coasting over the entourage in a guard pattern.

There were few enough who had won the allegiance of even one of them, and as they stood outside of the fortress walls, Shou could now see _three_ of them. Only one person had three of them.

He stood next to Edo, clad in black leather, eyes proud and defiant, neither collar nor leash nor anything else to mark one as a slave on him that Shou could see. But if there was any deference in him at all, it was to the man who stood next to him.

Shou swallowed. Shou cranked out two small words from his burning throat. He didn't think anyone heard him and he couldn't have cared if they did.

"Big brother?"

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	11. Chapter 11

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,274||story: 12,592|| **Chapters:** 11/30

* * *

"What is it?"

They'd only known each other a handful of months, but already Edo knew his Champion well enough to tell when something took him by surprise. That didn't happen often, either. Ryou could recover from almost anything in a matter of moments.

To now have him tense up and a simple negation slide between his teeth wasn't like him at all and Edo wanted to know what the problem was.

"There. Beside him." Edo glanced that way and saw what could only be a small slave, probably not even as tall as he was, dressed in the sort of tunics Brron provided for his slaves, staring at them. Under most circumstances, Edo would've written it off as the slave not being used to seeing large parties of people who weren't absolutely devoted to his master.

But that wouldn't have made Ryou react like this.

"What about him?"

What he heard wasn't what he expected at all. "Shou. My brother."

Edo's eyes narrowed. Ryou had mentioned his brother a time or two, but they'd spent far more time discussing fighting and training against one another than they had speaking of one another's families. Edo had none of his own, unless one counted Saiou and Mizuchi, and Ryou had only mentioned that Shou existed, not what his fate upon capture had been.

Perhaps he hadn't wanted to think about it at all. Edo doubted he would've wanted to if Saiou or Mizuchi had been in that condition.

"What do you want to do about it?"

Edo wasn't surprised at all by the answer. "Kill him."

"Let's finish what we came here for." Edo drew himself up as tall as he could muster as the doors to Brron's fortress swung open.

"Business before pleasure, of course."

Ryou bent his head a tiny fraction, not so much that anyone watching would've tendered any real meaning to it. Their conversation couldn't have been overheard, but both of them had enough experience in keeping their features calm so that anyone who watched wouldn't have thought there was anything unusual spoken of between them.

Their conveyance drew up in front of where Brron stood and the monster stepped forward, chuckling in his usual fashion.

"Lord Phoenix! How pleasant of you to accept my invitation! I do hope we can get matters settled quickly."

Edo gave him the most distant look he could manage. "Of course. I would expect nothing else." He expected treachery and murder if Brron thought, or even hoped, he could get away with it.

That was why he had brought a few extra surprises in his entourage. Ones that Brron could never anticipate, for a vast variety of reasons.

"Come, come!" Brron waved at him. "Introduce me to your Champion! I've heard so much about him. I can hardly wait to see him on the battlefield."

Ryou, who had remained a proper step behind Edo, now moved forward at one quick hand gesture. He made no gestures of courtesy to Brron, nor anything that indicated he saw anything unusual in Brron's silent slave. All he did was stand there.

Edo could not quite rest a hand on Ryou's shoulder, but they'd devised a way around that. It wasn't very complicated, and it reinforced in everyone else's mind that Edo was in charge, regardless of how he looked. He made a firm gesture and Ryou at once dropped down to his knees before him.

Edo didn't watch the slave for his reaction, but when he set one hand on Ryou's shoulder, he could feel the tension even harder there. He kept on as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening at all.

"This is Hell Kaiser. My slave and my Champion." He tilted up Ryou's head to expose his neck, and not so incidentally the silver collar around his neck, set with a single sapphire: the mark of the Phoenix line's Champion.

"Oh, how pretty!" Brron laughed, and Edo could not be certain if he referred to Ryou or the collar itself. "You'll meet _my_ Champion tomorrow when our little game begins. Though I'm quite certain that your precious Kaiser will soon be taking his position."

Edo raised his head, keeping his hand on Ryou's shoulder, more to keep the Kaiser calm than anything else. "The terms have not changed. Three bouts, Champion versus Champion, and the best of two out of three claims victory."

"And claims the other's Champion as well." Brron did not hesitate to point that out. "I've striven to find my best for you."

"Of course. Though I had heard that your best was your… son?" Edo chose the word cautiously.

Brron grumbled at that, boney fingers flexing back and forth. "He's gone on a long-term mission for me. I don't know when we'll see him around here again, and as you know well, the position of Champion can't be left unfilled for long."

As the warlords of this world sparred back and forth through their Champions instead of – usually – outright warfare, Edo understood that quite well. It was one reason he'd installed Ryou in the position.

"Of course." He waved one hand as if the small details didn't bother him. They really didn't. "But it's been a long journey."

"I quite understand!" Brron waved one hand and a figure hovering in the back stepped forward. If Edo hadn't known about Rune already, he would've been surprised to see someone who looked so much like Johan. "See them to the quarters set aside for them and have dinner brought. I'm certain they're far too tired to consider dining with the rest of us tonight."

Rune bent his head submissively. "As you wish, my lord." He gestured toward Edo and Ryou, while other servants came up at his command to take their beasts to the stables and the rest of their entourage to whatever quarters had been prepared for them. Edo made a note to find out where those would be. He didn't want to have to go looking for them if worst came to worst.

He made no point of looking for Ryou's brother, but thought he saw the other following Brron out of there. From his position and attitude, he seemed to be Brron's personal slave. That wasn't the best of positions, though there were many that Edo could've thought of that were far worse.

Rune said nothing at all until they reached a door in a corridor buried deep in the fortress. "These are your quarters, Lord Phoenix. There is a room for your Champion within, or you may have him installed elsewhere, at your desire."

"This will be fine." Edo had no intentions of letting Ryou leave his side at all, not in this of all places.

He could almost feel the questions wanting to burst out of Ryou and turned enough to catch his eye, shaking his head. They needed to make certain of a few things before they started any serious investigations.

Ryou ground his teeth together, but obeyed, remaining silent. Rune didn't act as if he noticed anything at all. Instead, he told them dinner would be served within the hour, and he would send someone to guide them around if they needed it.

"Thank you." Edo nodded in a dismissive way and opened the suite door. Rune nodded in return, vanishing down the corridor. Edo didn't let his guard down. No one in sight just meant they couldn't be seen, not that there wasn't anyone there at all.

But he had ways to work around that, and together, he and Ryou stepped into their quarters for a visit he wished he'd never had to make.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	12. Chapter 12

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,186||story: 13,778|| **Chapters:** 12/30

* * *

Brron so enjoyed being able to put one over on those who called themselves his enemies. He let them consider themselves his enemies and let them arrange battles against him so he could have the distinct pleasure of crushing them. The only being in the world who stood a chance of actually being a threat to him was Haou, of course, and he'd already taken steps to put an end to _that_.

Taking Edo Phoenix's Hell Kaiser away from him would be a pure pleasure. There wasn't anyone else he knew of who could be a proper Champion for him aside from Johan, and it would look far too amiss if he didn't have a Champion by his side while Johan was away on his mission. It just wasn't done.

But he'd found someone who could do what was necessary and he knew that Phoenix wouldn't be able to understand his thinking until it was too late.

 _Something is odd between them, though._ He couldn't yet put his finger on what it was, but he could feel a strange current running between the two. It wasn't at all like what he and Johan had, the firm and certain knowledge that his son knew if he failed, then his brother would pay the consequences for it. This was something else altogether and not knowing what it was itched at Brron.

He tried to dismiss it. He wasn't doing a good job of it.

Perhaps they were lovers. Such a situation had arisen before, with lords and their Champions. It seldom lasted long, mostly because in Brron's opinion, lords had no business putting a Champion to slave's work. It demeaned lord and Champion both, even when a Champion _was_ a slave – such as this Kaiser.

In cases like this, perhaps 'demean' wasn't the right word, though. It could give a Champion airs above his station, but even that didn't fit properly for Hell Kaiser.

Frankly, though he refused to admit it, Brron didn't like this mystery current. He'd lived for so long with the awareness that the only people who didn't want to kill him were the ones who didn't know he existed in the first place that anything he didn't understand seemed like an extra weapon aimed at his back.

 _I'll make a point of getting rid of them that much faster, then,_ he decided. It would be the best way to deal with it all. Remove the annoyance, remove the threat, no matter how great or small it was.

And his plan now would succeed. It had never been done before, but there wasn't anything in the code of conduct that ruled all the interactions between the Great Lords that said it couldn't happen. No one had ever thought it necessary before.

No one had ever been like him and seeking to attain full mastery over the world, wiping out the other Great Lords and dominating the lesser lords. When someone moved into new territory, then taking new chances came with the task.

He stepped into his dining hall, gaze falling on two chairs close to his own. One of those was the one usually occupied by his Champion. He would have to contact Johan and let him know of the success of this plan, once the plan succeeded.

Someone else sat there now, quiet and still, shrouded in a black hooded cape that covered every inch of them. Tonight was their first night seated at the table and he could already see people taking curious looks.

Seated across from them was another form, somewhat bulkier, but also wrapped up in a black hooded cape. While the first remained silent, like a slightly larger shadow, the second banged a goblet on the table and demanded wine in a gruff, harsh voice. One of the servants hurried to obey, and Brron smiled.

All according to his plan.

* * *

Shou stood in his place, watching the new arrivals and wishing that his brother – how could that be his brother! - and the visiting Great Lord sat at the table, too. Maybe then he could figure out what was going on.

He'd known that his brother had been sold to someone in white. He hadn't managed to get a really good look at who it was, but now he thought what he remembered of that person did match this Lord Edo Phoenix. So at least he had a small idea of where his brother had been: the court of a Great Lord. And now Champion.

His Champion who got down on his knees at little more than a touch and who would put his life on the line to fight against Brron's Champion way too soon.

Something hard and thick and emotional stuck in Shou's throat at the thought. He didn't want Ryou to fight. He knew Ryou _could_ fight. He knew Ryou was an amazing fighter, one who'd never been defeated in their little village, but that had mostly been because no one there really knew enough about fighting, be it dueling or with a weapon, to really give him a challenge.

 _If he's a Champion, if Lord Edo is that pleased with him, he's probably killed people already._

Shou hadn't yet worked out how much time passed between the sacking of their village and now, but it had to have been months, and to think that in that time, his brother took people's lives… it churned his stomach. He didn't _want_ to think about it. He wanted to pretend such a thing had never happened, _could_ never happen.

It would be like… like… he groped for something and his mind latched onto it. It would be like finding out _Juudai_ killed people!

The whole thought of that almost made him laugh, if he hadn't been in public and if he didn't know what Brron would do to him if he broke out laughing in the middle of dinner.

But it was funny anyway. Juudai had only lived in the village for a few years, moving away to a larger city after his parents died, supposedly to live with some relative or other. Shou hadn't ever gotten the gist of it, because after a few poorly spelled letters, Juudai hadn't written to him anymore.

He hadn't really been too upset. Really. Juudai probably fell in love with big city life and forgot all about someone he'd only known for a few years in a tiny village that you could miss if you took a nap riding through it.

But what Shou knew for certain was that Juudai wouldn't kill anyone. The whole thought just refused to pass through his mind at all.

 _How long has it been since I even thought about him?_ Years, even. Not even during the invasion. But now Shou realized that he was very glad Juudai hadn't been there when the raid happened. He would've ended up a slave too, more than likely, or even worse, someone would've taken his pert remarks the wrong way and killed him.

Yeah. He was _really_ glad that Juudai wasn't there. Now he just wished his brother wasn't too.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	13. Chapter 13

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,260||story: 15,038|| **Chapters:** 13/30

* * *

A low undercurrent of murmurs whispered all throughout the arena as Hell Kaiser – no one had yet heard if he had a name other than that – took his place on the Challenger's side, his duel disk at the ready, as calm as if this were little more than a common training match.

On the opposite side, the side of the Champion, there stood a hooded and robed figure, though no one could see if they carried a duel disk and deck themselves.

Brron and Edo sat in elegant thrones on the dais, where they would have the best view of the duel. Shou stood in silence behind Brron, while a tall, slender human with a waterfall of blue hair stood behind Edo. Sharp violet eyes darted all over the area, but neither he nor Shou made any sound. Good slaves, in Brron's opinion, knew their place and showed it by silence and obedience.

Now he rose to his feet.

"One Champion versus another! This first clash will be between duelists, but not a battle to the death. Not this time." Brron laughed softly before he raised his hand. "First of my Champions, reveal yourself!"

Edo's eyes narrowed but he made no other outward sign of disturbance. He trusted in Ryou to succeed in this.

Brron's Champion threw back the hood covering their head. Anyone who hadn't had any idea of the search Brron conducted for anyone strong enough to be his Champion – which was virtually everyone there – gasped.

"I introduce to you all my newest servant, the last one defeated by my dear son Johan before his departure! Erebus the Underworld Monarch!" Brron paused for a specific dramatic moment. "Or perhaps I should say 'former' Underworld Monarch. But now he kneels to _me_ and he will bring victory in my name!"

Edo stood up, his voice calm and unruffled. "Hell Kaiser. Do what you do best."

Hell Kaiser tilted his head in an obedient bow before he faced Erebus. The undead monarch lifted his own head in pride.

"Being defeated by _one_ human doesn't mean that _all_ humans can win against me!"

"Do you want the first turn or the second?" Hell Kaiser asked, one eyebrow quirking upward.

Erebus bellowed something most people would've considered unsuitable for young ears before he materialized his duel disk and drew five cards.

* * *

Shou couldn't remember how many times he'd seen his brother dueling. He knew Ryou's deck inside and out – he'd been tempted a time or two to make one himself, but he hadn't ever seen any set of cards that called to his soul the way that the Cyber Dragons called to Ryou.

But now he saw cards that he'd never seen Ryou use before: Cyberdarks, they were called. And he saw Ryou using moves and skills that he'd never had before, and treating his cards a little harsher than he ever had before. It made him worry. It made him _wonder_.

It made him a little scared.

All of his attention poured into the combat as the two duelists sparred back and forth, almost every attack taking a few bites out of their opponent's life points. That wasn't all, either: each attack that hit the duelist themselves opened cuts and flowered bruises on the duelist. These monsters weren't simple constructions of light, but summons from elsewhere.

No one entirely knew where the monsters came from, only that summoned creatures and magical and trap effects caused pain and genuine damage. No one knew for certain if it had always been that way or not. But it was now, and that was what duelists dealt with.

* * *

Edo kept his expression as calm as possible. From the corner of his eye he could see Saiou in his position as 'slave'. Saiou was even less of a slave than Ryou was; others might see him as that, but the three of them knew the truth amongst themselves, and no one else needed to know.

He made no movements toward Saiou. He knew what the psychic told him ahead of time, and all that remained was to see how the duel played out in more specific terms.

What he worried over was the _second_ fight. Saiou's words on that were far more ominous.

Ryou, of course, hadn't so much as twitched an eyelash over the prediction. He never did. Saiou could very well have told him that he was destined to fall screaming into a lava pit and he wouldn't have so much as asked for an ice cube to cool himself on the way down.

That was one of the reasons he'd caught Edo's attention from the very beginning, as well as one of the reasons he still kept it. Finding whatever it was that could get under Ryou's skin amused many otherwise dull hours.

This would have to be the last move of the duel, and it was all on Ryou. Erebus's defense was deceptively simple: a spell card that negated all battle damage to him and his monsters, as well as preventing their destruction via battle or effects. Effect damage could still reach him, but Ryou had few cards in his deck that could deal that. He'd always preferred destroying his opponents through actually fighting them. Edo could relate.

Brron leaned over to him. "I do hope that you two had a tender farewell." The warlord tried to purr, but his mouth wasn't really set up for it. Edo gave him a mild look.

"I don't think that will be necessary."

Ryou drew his card. He already had Cyberdark Dragon on his field, with Cyber End Dragon equipped to it, with more than enough attack points to finish off Erebus even if he'd been at full life points. Edo waited.

Erebus sneered at his opponent. "Are you ready to end this?"

"As you wish." Ryou flipped the card he'd drawn around. "I play Cyclone."

Erebus had only one spell card in play, the one that protected himself and his monsters from damage and destruction. A whirl of energy and magic spun itself into being in front of Ryou, then leaped across the field, caught his spell card up in itself, and whirled it around until it shattered, the defense fading away in a matter of moments.

"Cyberdark Dragon, attack!"

Erebus had kept his monsters in attack position, anticipating his win on the next turn. But now Ryou's monster lashed outward, an energy blast exploding from three mouths that not only destroyed his most powerful monster, but shredded every bit of Erebus's life points down to nothing at all.

The monarch slumped down, alive but with almost no strength left after this duel. He drew in an unsteady breath, eyes flicking first to Brron, then over to another figure in the stands, as robed and silent as he was.

Brron chuckled, a wet and horrid sound. "Well, that was interesting." He waved one hand to his guards. "Take him away."

Edo's gaze rested on the other robed figure, then looked toward Brron. "Now?"

"Now we have lunch," Brron said, shrugging. "And tomorrow your Champion and my _second_ Champion will fight against one another."

"Second?" Edo drew in a sharp, angry breath. This hadn't been discussed at all before. One versus one, that was the way it had always been.

But Brron only shrugged again. "One Champion for the dueling, one for the physical combat. I checked: the laws do not say this can't be done." He sent a sharp, wicked smile towards Edo. "I do hope your Champion is up to this as well."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	14. Chapter 14

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,120||story: 16,158|| **Chapters:** 14/30

* * *

Brron stepped into the chamber, door closing behind him. He had no guards with him; not that he would have needed any here. His second Champion knew better than to try to attack him.

People who had something to lose if he died _always_ knew better than to attack him.

There sat his second Champion, with a perfect view of the arena from the windows, seated to take advantage of that view. As soon as he entered, the Champion rose up, head bent, shoulders tense.

"It's not time yet," he said, shaking his own head. "Tomorrow you'll stand against Hell Kaiser." He delivered a stern glare. "And you'd best defeat him when you do."

"I understand." Voice quiet, muffled from behind the cloak and hood, worn even here, in case Phoenix had some way to scry into the private areas of the castle.

He wouldn't put it past any of his enemies to do that. He would've done the same thing himself if he guested with them.

"Once Hell Kaiser belongs to me, then you and your brother can leave. I won't have any further need of you."

And quite frankly, if his second Champion _believed_ that, then Brron knew he'd met the most gullible human to ever walk the world.

Whether or not they believed, they only bent their head in assent. Brron approved. He'd never liked humans who gabbled a lot. he'd yet to meet one that had anything truly interesting to say, anyway.

"May I see my brother before tomorrow?"

The two of them hadn't seen one another since Brron's people captured them, only a handful of days before. He'd kept quiet on the whole arrangement, with only the Champion knowing about it at all. Haou and Phoenix and probably some of the lesser ones more than likely had spies of some kind around here. He refused to give them information.

"No. You know our bargain: you'll see him only when the two of you leave here. You'll have to trust me that he's being taken care of."

The hooded head lifted and Brron caught sight of furious hazel eyes. He'd always loved the sight of angry humans. They were so much more interesting than ones that weren't angry.

"Trust you?"

Brron threw his head back and laughed. "Of course! We have a bargain, don't we? You fight for me, and I make certain your brother keeps on living. One fight and your freedom is yours." He chuckled again, a bit lower this time. "Of course, if you want to stay on and join my guard, I'm sure you'll be welcome."

A quick, harsh shake of the head. "No. Never."

Brron suspected that after the battle, he would ask again, and get another answer. He wanted this Champion to stay and he would have what he wanted, one way or another.

But for now. "As you wish, then. The combat will be tomorrow afternoon. Remain here until I send someone for you."

He didn't wait for an answer, but turned and headed back out, extremely pleased with how all of his plans fit together.

* * *

Saiou opened his eyes and reached for the goblet of wine he'd set here before attempting to scry. He took a long drink before looking up at Edo and Ryou.

"Nothing," he reported with a regretful sigh. "Brron has very good anti-scrying wards in place."

"Damn." Edo tilted his head back. "If we knew who his other Champion was, at least we'd know what to expect."

"It doesn't matter," Ryou said. "The rules are two out of three of the combats. Even if his Champion defeats me, there is another duel after this one."

"As long as he doesn't decide that he'll dig up a third Champion for that duel," Edo grumped. "Or try to have you two fight a second physical duel."

Saiou enjoyed his wine; they'd brought a supply with them, since none of them trusted Brron to supply anything that wasn't tainted somehow. Then his gaze moved to the person standing behind Edo.

"What of you?" His own talents proved useless at the moment. Perhaps someone else would be more useful.

"I can go prowling whenever you want," the burly young man declared, arms folded over his chest. "Just tell me what I'm looking for."

"My brother." Ryou declared without hesitation. "And if you find him, don't let him know that you're there at all."

Dark eyebrows bent in confusion. "Why not? Don't you want him to know you're looking for him?"

"If he knows, Brron will know," Edo put in, shaking his head. "Better to just do what we came here to do first. What we need from you is finding out where he _is_ and if he's being hurt right now."

The other nodded. "Not a problem." Without another word, he slid out of the room. None of Brron's guards or spies would be likely to notice him, or think anything of him if they did. Being able to change one's shape could come in quite handy.

Saiou considered what he knew. His second sight told him that they would be victorious in their quest here. Exactly _how_ he didn't know. It could mean that they succeeded in the champion battles. It could mean they failed there and found another way to accomplish their goal. It could mean something he hadn't divined as of yet.

"Can you tell if they're on the way yet?" Edo wanted to know. Saiou shook his head.

"The wards prevent me from seeing beyond the boundaries of his territory. Not to mention Haou's own wards protect him from being viewed."

As much as it would've made matters just that little bit easier, Saiou understood why it was set up like that. Brron had people who could scry as well and if they learned of who else was coming to join this little celebration, there would be more complications than any of them could handle.

Edo got up. "All right. We won today and we can't be sure about tomorrow. We'll wait for Kenzan to come back before we even think about what to do about your brother." He nodded briefly toward Hell Kaiser. "You'd better rest, and be ready for tomorrow."

There wasn't even a question of asking any of the warriors to take Hell Kaiser's place against Brron's warrior. Saiou thought it would be wiser, but Hell Kaiser stated from the beginning that he would face all of these on his own. Exactly what his reasoning was, Saiou couldn't entirely fathom, but his own sight showed him this was what had to be.

Sometimes knowing the future, to any foggy extent, didn't make matters any clearer than not knowing it at all.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	15. Chapter 15

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,078||story: 17,236|| **Chapters:** 15/30

* * *

Kenzan took no more than three steps beyond the door before he wasn't Kenzan anymore.

Or, to be utterly fair, he _became_ Kenzan: the inner Kenzan, the inner him that he'd only begun to learn about in the last few months.

A large lizard, easily mistakable for a Wild Raptor, now raced along the hallways. Kenzan didn't know if Brron had any of those wandering around, but most people didn't ask questions of something more than capable of taking a large bite out of them before they could do anything about it.

He sniffed carefully, searching through all of the varied scents for the one that he wanted. It had been months since he'd caught a whiff of Shou and he had a feeling it would take him a while to locate him here, with so many other scents.

One tugged at his attention and he had to force himself not to track it down. It did smell so very familiar, but it wasn't Shou.

 _Rune?_ Probably, given how much it smelled like Johan, but wasn't Johan.

He darted down a corridor and then up a stairway, wanting to avoid being seen. If anyone asked Rune, he could honestly be able to say that he hadn't sen anyone unusual in the halls. He didn't _think_ anyone would ask, but better to avoid any lies, just in case.

There were other people up here, servants and slaves for the most part, and all of them got out of his way the moment they saw him. Some of them vanished into the nearest doors, expressions telling him that they did not want to be there if it turned out he was hungry.

Probably for the best. He wasn't a people-eater but sometimes when he did get hungry, it was a bit difficult to control himself.

He kept on sniffing, avoiding any scent that he could identify that wasn't Shou's.

Not that this was easy by any means. He didn't know nearly as many scents as he wanted to around this place.

"What is this?"

And sometimes the scents came from directions that he didn't expect. He might not know the aroma, but he did indeed recognize Brron's voice when the other spoke.

He didn't stop, though. Most Wild Raptors weren't that intelligent, so one not realizing that someone passing could be talking about him wasn't that unusual.

At least he didn't stop because of Brron. He did have to stop when he realized the corridor he was on came to a blank wall a few steps down. He sniffed around as if in search of something – which he was – and then turned, sniffing, giving the robed monster a curious look.

It took all of his effort not to pounce and try to run off with one of Brron's bony body parts. _Any_ bony body part. He wasn't that particular.

But he started on by, keeping a wary eye out as he did. Brron smelled of power and death and any sensible Wild Raptor would keep himself away from that.

Brron put a hand in front of him, staring intently. "I don't have anything like you in my army. You do look strong, though." His eyes glinted with the desire to possess.

Kenzan darted around him, growling. He almost regretted not wearing a collar that would've told everyone he had an 'owner'. Not that he _did_ , but if it gave him a measure of security, it would've been somewhat worth it.

"You must be with Phoenix's people. He didn't mention having a lizard pet." Brron stared harder at Kenzan, who kept on moving, still maintaining his disguise of not being able to understand what anyone else said about him. "I'll speak to him about letting his pets roam around without being on a leash."

Kenzan let out a tiny breath of a relieved sigh, then kept on going. He wanted to look back to see if Brron noticed, and managed a tiny peek as he turned the corner to try to find another way to go. Brron stood outside the room he'd left, watching him intently.

 _What do I do..._ Oh. Yes. Kenzan didn't have lips to smile with in this form but he didn't need them. He turned so he faced Brron, raising his forearms up in the most threatening manner he could, and roared fit to shake the tapestries off the wall.

A threat display, informing anyone who dared to face him that he was a powerful hunter and would gladly eat anything that came his way.

Brron's lips thinned in the most horrible of smiles and he looked away, a low chuckle echoing softly. Kenzan roared again, waited to see if there were any challengers, and then scuffled off down the corridor, still searching for Shou.

* * *

 _A shape-changer. How interesting. I wonder what he's looking for here._

Brron knew more than enough of magic to have sensed the flicker of such coming from this being disguised as a Wild Raptor. There was a disquieting glimmer of intelligence in those eyes as well. Anyone with enough sense to put it together would recognize the creature for what it was.

And yet it kept on roaming as if nothing more than a common beast. Brron approved of its courage, if nothing else.

 _I think I'll take it too, once I've won this challenge against Phoenix._ He could always use a good guard beast, and training it to obey would be almost as amusing as training the little human brat had been.

It might even be more so, since the brat was smart enough to do as he was told once he was in a situation where not doing so would mean his life. Perhaps he could even train them together. There were a few chores the human could do that he hadn't learned how yet. Brron would make full use of him.

Ever since Phoenix and his entourage arrived, though, the boy seemed a little off-kilter. He didn't disobey, he didn't try to communicate with them, but the faintest hints of something being wrong remained around. It set Brron's instincts off as much as whatever it was that lay between Phoenix and his Champion did.

He had a great deal to investigate and he wanted to get it done before this challenge ended.

Either that or he'd just kill them all and not have to worry about it anymore. That sounded more and more like the viable option to him.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	16. Chapter 16

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,284||story: 18,520|| **Chapters:** 16/30

* * *

The door to Edo's assigned rooms opened and Kenzan slid inside, closing it with one taloned paw behind himself. In the midst of walking he shifted back to his human form and slumped onto the nearest couch.

"I know he's here," he said, knowing that Saiou, Edo, and Ryou all listened. Ryou looked ready to sleep at any moment, but he listened all the same. "But wherever he is, can't find him."

He reached for the food on the table between them; someone must have anticipated that he'd be back – probably Saiou – and there was enough left for him, even given his appetite. "But I came close."

"How close?" Ryou did what he could to keep himself in check, but among those few he considered friends, he let himself show a tiny bit of concern.

"Near as I can tell, he went into Brron's quarters and never came back out. I think he's supposed to be the bastard's personal slave, so he probably wants to keep him close," Kenzan reported between bites of food. He frowned as he did. "Ran across the guy myself, too." He waved somewhat to the left. "That way. He was coming out of some room. Didn't stick around to find out whose, but I could smell at least one person around who wasn't him. No one I know, though."

Quick looks spread around; it wasn't the best information, but it was what they had to work with. Edo gestured toward Ryou, a sternness in his eyes, and the other headed off, presumably to get some rest. Kenzan could go for a nap himself; transforming took it out of him, as did running all over a strange place and having his nerves stretched to the snapping point.

He'd do it after he finished eating. He wanted to make sure he was ready for the battle.

* * *

"Still no sign of who he's going to fight?" Edo wanted to know. Saiou shook his head again, gaze now bent on the cards in front of him.

"Only that this will not be an easy battle. Whoever this is, they are a strong warrior."

Edo nodded; this wasn't Ryou's strong suit, but he _did_ know how to battle weapons against weapons, and he would throw his entire heart into what he did. If he could win this, then it would mean their victory in the wholel situation.

Edo still couldn't entirely bring himself to trust in that, though. Even if they won, Brron would put obstacles in their path. That was the kind of slime he was.

Outside the sun slipped down past the horizon and inside, anticipation rose in all who would view or take part in the combat the following day.

* * *

Lances of light crossed the sky from the moment the sun rose up again, and the tension in Brron's fortress could very well have been pierced by those same lances. Few people had an appetite for breakfast. Brron wasn't one of those; he had a hearty meal and laughed loud at thoughts of his own, a smug confidence radiating outward once he made his way to the arena.

There wasn't much different there today as compared to the day before. The two warriors stood against one another, but instead of duel disks and decks of cards, each carried other weapons.

Brron's Champion still remained shrouded in hood and cloak, until he gestured grandiosely.

"I present to you my second Champion, a warrior of unparallelled skill, arena Champion to … someone I forget, as I defeated them and decided this one deserved a chance to win freedom," Brron declared, laughing a heartbeat later. "Now, defeat them, my warrior!"

The warrior threw back the hood and cloak, tossing it out of the way, drawing a blade and setting herself into a combat ready stance.

Dark blonde hair, cut in front to remain out of her eyes and tied into a tail to prevent the rest of it from drifting to distract her, gleamed in the bright sun, and Ryou found himself studied by angry amber eyes.

He'd never seen her before, but he could recognize a warrior ready to fight at once, and drew his own sword.

"Hell Kaiser," he said, moving into position. It remained only courteous for those who fought to know one another's names. That Brron didn't see fit to give her one rankled a fraction.

"Asuka," she replied with a brief nod. "I've heard of your reputation, Hell Kaiser. You are more comfortable with a duel disk than a sword."

She leaped forward, sword cutting toward him, and he moved out of the way swiftly.

"What about you?" He swung his own blade and she parried it expertly, shoving him backward a step or two. They exchanged blows quickly, still feeling each other out, learning what they could through combat. "Are you a gladiator or a duelist?"

A flash of a smile across her lips, cold and unyielding. "Both."

"Then when this ends, I would be honored if you dueled me," Ryou offered. This wasn't to be a fight to the death, merely to defeat. The more she fought, the more he wanted to know what she would be like to face across the dueling field as well. If she could strike like this, what could she do with warriors at her command?

Another smile, with even less warmth to it than before. "When this is over, I won't be staying here."

"That doesn't mean we can't duel," he pointed out, catching her blade on the flat of his and pushing back. "I suspect you'd be welcome anywhere with skills like yours."

She slipped her blade away from his and darted underneath, the tip of her sword pointed for his heart. He wrenched himself out of the way in the nick of time, moving to get a better position. He already wore black; the sun beat down harder and harder with each movement, and she wasn't giving him any time to rest.

She didn't answer his offer, but now seemed more intent on finishing the fight. She still didn't lose her focus, though, every move skilled and trained, taking advantage of everything she could to push him harder.

Something didn't feel right about all of this. He knew very little of her, not even enough to say that he knew her at all, but this still didn't feel right, and Ryou didn't like it at all. There wasn't any way that he could ask what was wrong. She might not even have the same feeling that he did.

He lost track of how many times their swords clashed or one of them made an off-hand strike to the other, the weapons hitting armor or feet slipped in the sand and only quick movements keeping them from falling. He had no idea of how long this had gone on. The quick banter was no more, only the unstoppable need to win the battle.

When she made her move, it was too fast for him to react to it. Dueling with cards wasn't entirely the same as dueling with weaponry. He wasn't worn enough to make a complete difference, and he could tell how skilled she was. But perhaps if he hadn't dueled the day before, matters might've fallen out differently.

They never could figure out if they would have. But she pushed forward with a quick, harsh series of blows that overpowered him even as he fell back. A quick flash of her sword, twisting upward, and his own blade fell from his hands, clattering downward. She pointed at his throat, able to kill him at a moment's notice now, if the battle had been to the death.

"I win."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	17. Chapter 17

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,055||story: 19,575|| **Chapters:** 17/30

* * *

Utter silence reigned in the arena for a few moments, before virtually every one of Brron's people burst into thunderous applause. Asuka didn't look at them at all, but stepped back to allow Hell Kaiser to his feet.

She fought to catch her breath, her armor hot and pressing, her blade a long weight of steel that grew heavier with every moment. This was the aftermath of every battle and she'd grown used to it over the years.

 _I wish I could've fought him for other reasons. Any other reasons._ A simple exhibition to show skill against skill would be best. Asuka enjoyed displaying her talents and she wasn't opposed to killing when it came to a proper and righteous cause, but that wasn't the situation she found herself in.

Brron's voice spread out over the arena. "What a wonderful Champion I chose! I may think of keeping her around once my son returns!"

Asuka tensed, her hand clutching harder on her swordhilt. She'd not expected Brron to keep his word about freeing Fubuki, but the idea of him so blatantly declaring it to one and all, when she dared not say a word to deny him…

Her gaze flickered over to the opposing Champion and his master. Lord Phoenix didn't give her a look, more worried over his slave, but she'd heard about him from tavern gossip. No one said _much_ ; it wasn't wise to speak of the other Great Lords with any kind of favor when one lived in Brron's lands.

But she recalled something, at least: that Lord Phoenix hated Brron and wanted to take him down.

That wasn't such a surprise. All of the Great Lords hated one another. But now she wondered how she could use this to her advantage.

Or to hers and Fubuki's.

She wiped her forehead, saluted both Brron and Lord Phoenix, and marched off the sand, thinking hard.

* * *

Edo didn't want to be impressed by Brron's Champion's skills, but seeing that she'd defeated Ryou with only superficial injuries made that difficult.

 _I wonder if she'd be willing to fight for me instead._ He doubted it. It wasn't especially impossible, but he would have to talk to her to find out, and Brron wouldn't let that happen.

Granted, if all went well, then Brron wouldn't be a problem for much longer, so there was that to consider. But until then, that thought would have to be set aside.

He checked over Ryou one more time. Out of 'courtesy', Brron sent his resident physician, the Holy Elf Heather. She'd made certain there weren't anything beyond a few minor cuts and scrapes on Ryou, then set a flask of something thick and green in front of him.

"If you plan to fight again tomorrow, drink this. It will restore your strength much faster than anything else. Though there is a drawback: once the effects have passed, usually within forty-eight hours, you'll sleep like the dead for another twelve."

Edo wasn't surprised to see Ryou reach for it right away. He would've done the same thing himself.

Heather nodded to both of them, then left, likely to see to Brron's Champion if she hadn't already. Edo knew of Heather by reputation and she took her responsibilities very seriously.

The silence within their quarters was much like what had fallen in the arena at the moment of Brron's Champion's victory. Saiou sat at a table a short distance away, laying out a set of cards, staring thoughtfully at whatever they told him. Ryou lay back in his chair, eyes closed, resting. Kenzan wandered back and forth, eyes flicking to the door now and then.

"If you want to go out, go. Let us know if you find anything," Edo said at last.

Kenzan was out the door like a shot and Edo would've wagered on him shifting to his raptor form the moment he could safely do so. Kenzan found himself far more comfortable with scales than without them. That wasn't a surprise; most shapeshifters were like that. Their non-human form was the true form of their soul, and the closer the two matched, the better.

 _I wish we dared to get in touch with anyone else._ Saiou already warned this would not be possible before they started this journey in the first place. Brron's wards prevented much communication beyond the barriers. He knew there were ways around it, but as guests, they would be watched more closely than many others would be. So they would have to run this the way they'd planned and hope that nothing outside of their awareness changed in a way that would cause too much trouble.

He glanced toward Ryou, not surprised now to see that he'd slipped from a simple relaxation into actual sleep. That led almost naturally to the thought of where his brother might be and what he might be doing.

The answer to the first was simple, based off what they'd seen and Kenzan's report: likely locked up within Brron's personal quarters, for any number of reasons.

 _He doesn't know that Ryou and Shou are brothers. He'd say something about it otherwise._ Brron was just like that. If he found something he could use against someone else, especially if it were a tie to another person, he would use it ruthlessly.

He'd seen that in Johan and Rune. But that sort of thing could push someone too far.

He'd _also_ seen that in Johan and Rune.

If it would've done any good, he would've gone stalking out himself, just like Kenzan. But he didn't trust Brron not to try something twisted before the last round of their combat, and he would have no harm come to Ryou.

He would have no harm come to either of them, Saiou or Ryou. And he would do anything at all to make certain that didn't happen, even if it came to bringing down Brron altogether.

 _I'd do that just because he deserves it, too. He's hurt too many people and he'll hurt more if someone doesn't do it._

He settled himself back on the comfortable couch, weary for many reasons. He did have to hand it to Brron; his guest quarters were as well-appointed as possible.

He also trusted Saiou's wardings to keep them from being disturbed, and thus let himself slide into sleep.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Well, I finally got to finishing this one. So updates will be regular!


	18. Chapter 18

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,108||story: 20,683|| **Chapters:** 18/30

* * *

"I want my ukulele," Fubuki muttered. He didn't have anyone to mutter to; that was the problem with being locked up by himself. The only sound around here was the sound that he made.

Which wasn't such a bad thing; when he made sound, _interesting_ things could happen, at least if he did it the right way. At least most of the time.

Being locked up in one of Brron's mage-proof cells didn't stand out in his mind as one of those times where that had happened. The fact he'd tried for must have been days and he hadn't even been able to so much as change the flavor of the gruel he was given kind of made that obvious.

He paced, again for the click of his heels than any other reason. He stared up into the shadowy ceiling and wished there was some place he could get to. There wasn't even a small hand-slit for light or warmth or air. Brron probably kept the air moving here by magic, which seemed like a waste to Fubuki.

When it came to that, an air-slit would've been the perfect place for someone to whisper instructions to him and he could've had an epic escape. That kind of thing was the stuff of legends, myths, fairy tales, and epic ballads of all kinds. Brron wasn't playing by the rules and Fubuki _loathed_ that.

He paced again, picking his speed up a little. How was Asuka doing out there? He knew something of what she was doing. He'd been there when Brron made his offer, such as it was.

But that didn't mean he had any idea of how she was doing when it came to combat. She did that so much better than he did, and better than so many other people that he knew, but he'd _heard_ the stories about Hell Kaiser. He'd told a few of them himself, for whatever coins they could pick up in roadside taverns.

And nothing could prepare him or her for what it would be like to face him in any form of combat.

His head came up as the door opened, one of his guards entering. Right behind the guard stood Asuka, weary but _alive_ , and Fubuki's heart leaped in delight.

"Little sister!" He wanted to run over and hug her. The alert stance of his guard _probably_ should've told him not to.

Fubuki didn't care. What else could happen to either of them?

So he darted right over to her and wrapped her up in his arms. He could tell in a moment that she'd fought a hard fight; he could smell the scent of shampoo and soap on her, and her hair still remained a little damp. She wasn't in her armor, and she didn't look as if she feared his death in the near future.

He knew she didn't fear _her_ death. That was the warrior's way. Just because you knew it was coming didn't mean you had to fear it.

Asuka smiled at him. At least she sort of moved her lips. She'd never been much of a smiler. But this did tell him that something wasn't right.

Asuka confirmed that when he could feel her fingers on the back of his neck, underneath his hair. The code was quick and to the point, as it needed to be. He'd worked it out when they were kids and Asuka insisted there wasn't any need for such a silly thing. Why would they ever need it?

Once they'd gone out into the world, it proved far more useful than either of them had ever dreamed and he'd told her 'I told you so' a dozen times. So far she hadn't smacked him for it more than half those times.

Useful didn't even begin to describe it right now.

"Are you going to stay long? _Can_ you stay long? How much more has to happen before we can get out of here?"

He kept up the babbling. He could see the slightly glazed look in the guard's eyes, which was just what he wanted. He knew they thought he was an idiot. He _wanted_ them to think that. It gave them an advantage.

"Only for a little while. I'm supposed to turn up to dinner later. And there's one more battle, a duel, that I have to fight tomorrow."

He'd known all that. But what her telling him this meant was that she'd won today's fight and that meant she'd defeated Hell Kaiser.

He wished he'd seen that. He could've made _such_ an epic ballad about that. He wanted to. The urge to compose music twitched at his fingertips.

"Tell me what happened," he suggested. It would pass the time, and confirm for the guard that neither of them could possibly be that dangerous.

Asuka stepped back, her arms folding over her chest, but not in an annoyed way. He knew every expression she could make and if she'd been annoyed, he would've long since known about it.

"I don't think it's all that fantastic. We fought. I won. He's not used to fighting, he's more of a duelist. But he did fight very well. He's probably had some training."

Fubuki could already put that together in his mind, two trained warriors fighting in a fashion as old as time, and only one could truly walk away.

All right, he knew that wasn't completely true, but it would _sound_ amazing and he couldn't wait to have a chance to sound it out for himself.

At the same time, what she'd signed onto the back of his neck made him want to focus on music just to keep himself from being terrified. Two simple words, but they meant so very much, not the least of which was that they needed to find a way out of here.

 _He lied._

It could only be Brron she spoke of. Which meant the whole bargain they'd supposedly made wasn't going to be kept.

Fubuki's eyes narrowed a fraction as he turned this over in his mind, still asking probing questions about the battle and what could happen next. But when she had to leave, he went in for another hug, and sent his own message back.

 _Talk to Edo._

A bard heard more rumors than a warrior did, and he knew how to sift truth from lies. If there was anyone around here that would be able to help them, it would be the one who fought Brron now. They could ask. If he wouldn't help, then they'd be no worse off than they were now.

At least he hoped they wouldn't be.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** More and more people are showing up! And soon they'll actually start to meet each other.


	19. Chapter 19

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,106||story: 21,789|| **Chapters:** 19/30

* * *

 _He lost._ Shou couldn't get his mind wrapped around that. He tried. He'd been sort of aware that when his brother had been very young and just learning how to duel and how to fight, he'd lost, but that was when he didn't know what he was doing. No one could be expected to win all the time _then_.

But Ryou got older and got stronger and more skilled, and he stopped losing, and even with the small size of their village, he just hadn't lost. He'd wanted to see the larger world for that reason and Shou wanted to go with him to see it all for himself, too. To see his brother win and be proud of his winning.

Only now Ryou wasn't quite like Ryou anymore. He was Hell Kaiser and he was Lord Phoenix's Champion and he remained a slave just like Shou was, only one who still remained proud even as he knelt at Lord Phoenix's feet and Shou _had a headache_ from all of this.

His orders for the duration of this combat were to stand by Brron's side during the fights themselves, serve him his meals when those times came, and then spend the rest of the time in his tiny little room, out of everyone's sight. As far as he could tell, Brron didn't know that his brother fought out on the sand. After spending all the time he had with the monster, he knew for a fact Brron would've used that if he'd had a chance.

 _I can't let him know. I can't even let Imp know._ He wouldn't ever say that he was fond of the little monster that hung around him, but that was also kind of the point. He didn't want to take a chance that Imp would report anything interesting he found out to Brron.

Shou couldn't think of a whole lot more that would be interesting for Brron to find out than the fact his body slave was the opposing Champion's brother.

So he kept his mouth shut and his head tucked down and thought of all the ways that he didn't dare get in touch with Ryou, because he _wanted_ to so very much and yet he didn't dare.

Asking Imp came at the top of the list when it came to 'order in which he'd thought about it'. But for being able to pull it off and not get himself killed? Right down at the bottom.

Could he sneak out at night and find the visitors' quarters and try to slide a message under the door? Maybe. If he knew which door was the right one and could trust that Lord Phoenix himself or any other part of his entourage – that tall man with the long hair _terrified_ Shou just by standing there and the other one kept looking like he'd eat Shou if he got a chance – would deliver it properly and never ask a single question.

Nope, that wasn't going to happen either. And there weren't many other ways that he could do it. Not one of them offered a slim hope of success.

The only times he got even close to Ryou were during the battles and at meals. Brron insisted that his guests attend every meal, and while Shou wasn't _very_ close to the visitors, he could still see them.

Ideas tumbled over one another and Shou tried to sort through them all. There had to be something in that mental mess that would help.

He'd survived all this time and he wasn't going to give up now. If his brother defeated Brron's Champion in the duel the next day, then Lord Phoenix _won_ and while Shou wasn't sure of the full consequences of that, he knew Brron wouldn't like it.

That made Shou want it to happen for any number of reasons. It wasn't impossible that Brron would take it out on him if it happened – when it happened, let it be when, if Shou believed in any gods at all, he would've prayed with all of his heart – but it would be worth it to see Brron so furious and to know that he'd lost something important to him.

 _I think the winner gets the other's Champion and maybe some coin or lands._ Even staying next to Brron didn't help him understand politics all that well, since Brron's brand of politics more or less centered around just killing as many people as he could and as often as he could.

Imp prodded him without warning and Shou yelped, pulled unceremoniously out of his mental whirlwind.

"It's almost dinner time. Better get ready while you can or the big guy is going to be ticked off."

Shou groaned; he hadn't even noticed how late it was getting. But this was one of those times he'd see his brother, so maybe he'd have an idea for _something_.

He made his way to the dining area once he'd tidied up – Brron still insisted on putting on the absolute best face possible for his guests – and stood at his appointed place as the room filled up. Most of the usual diners at Brron's table were monsters of various types, demons and devils and wicked spell-casters.

He'd noticed that even when she was in the area, Heather the Holy Elf never ate with them. He wondered why that was; even though she didn't live there, she was considered a part of the household, or so Rune told him.

He glanced toward the higher part of the table, where Brron, Rune, and the guests sat. Rune seemed involved in some sort of deep conversation with his father, and Shou paid attention, wondering if it could be even a little interesting.

He didn't catch enough of it to be certain, but then Brron rose up, his cup in his hand, and Shou hurried to fill it. He suspected the coming announcement would be something to do with the contest of Champions.

But Brron surprised every last one of them there with the possible exception of Rune.

"My dear people, my honored guests, I have a great and glorious announcement to make. My eldest son and former Champion departed some time ago on a mission of the utmost importance for me. I am pleased to announce today that in one month's time, he will succeed in his mission, by wedding Haou and becoming co-ruler of all of his lands."

He raised his cup high. "A toast to my son, the future Prince Consort."

Perhaps only Shou was close enough to hear him murmur, "And future _only_ monarch of those lands as well."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** More of Brron's evil plan revealed to more people. But who knows what Johan is really planning? (I do!)


	20. Chapter 20

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,086||story: 22,875|| **Chapters:** 20/30

* * *

Everything remained still for a heartbeat, then all of Brron's people echoed his toast, a few cheering. Rune said nothing at all, only sipped his drink, a satisfied smile on his lips.

They had no idea of what they were really cheering or how much he and Johan had suffered for this moment.

If they had known, most of them wouldn't care in the first place. Those who were the type to care about others weren't the type to serve Brron willingly.

What intrigued him the most right now was the way that Lord Phoenix and his entourage reacted. It intrigued him even as he'd expected it.

They sipped the toast just as he had, and he didn't miss the sense of satisfaction in Phoenix's eyes.

He wanted to be able to talk to them freely, but with all of Brron's spells hedging communications, that would be almost impossible.

A sudden thought sparked, and he smiled. Well, perhaps not that impossible. He would have to find a way to get the gift to them, but it could be done.

Brron leaned back in his chair, his wine cup refilled, smug satisfaction written in every line of himself.

"I will attend the wedding, of course," he declared. "I'll need to give my son and his new lord a proper gift."

Hell Kaiser leaned forward. "Why not a slave of some kind? Someone trained to perfection so that your son can continue to enjoy the quality of service I'm certain that he had here."

Brron gave the opposing Champion a very long look before he drained his cup and gestured for more.

"I could do that. I don't have many slaves that are that well-trained and still alive though." He stared at Shou over the edge of his cup and Rune tried to forget how to breathe.

He didn't talk to people very often, but he _listened_ and he _watched_ and he knew very well that Marufuji Shou and Marufuji Ryou shared blood and that Shou would do almost anything to get out of there. He didn't know if Brron knew about their relation but he must not have.

 _No one can tell him. This could be Shou's chance._ He kept himself quiet, but arranged a slightly annoyed look to his features, one that didn't go unnoticed by Brron.

"And what don't you like about this idea?" Brron demanded. Rune faintly shook his head.

"It isn't my decision to make, my lord-father," Rune said, calling upon years of experience to keep his voice submissive and obedient.

"I didn't ask that! I asked what you don't like about it!" One of Brron's bony hands raised but didn't hit. Brron seldom hit them where guests could see it. He wasn't so far into his cups that he would forget that.

Rune ducked his head down, displaying every bit of submission he could. "I don't think the boy is fully trained yet, my lord-father. And even if he were, then you'd need to find a new slave to perform his duties, and there are not many who suit your tastes and needs."

 _Which means there aren't many slaves who would defy you to the point you won't kill them but you can still break them._

Brron leaned over to fix his steel-cold gaze on him, the one that had terrified both him and Johan when they were children, and now only made both of them angry. But Rune kept his head down anyway.

"I'll decide when he's trained enough and I'll decide what kind of slave suits me. You're dismissed, Rune. I don't want to see you out of your rooms until it's time to depart for Haou's lands for the wedding."

Rune rose to his feet, every feature composed to convey that he had been shamed and should not have expected anything less. He didn't even try to catch Lord Phoenix's eye, but hurried his way out of the dining hall and to his own quarters.

Exactly where he'd wanted to go in the first place.

* * *

Once Rune departed, the dinner became a little rowdier, as if everyone wanted to let off steam after the confrontation. Brron's cup remained full and he declared frequently that he'd known Johan would succeed in his mission to enchant Haou's affections and he would be praised and lauded with the finest gifts that Brron could get his bony hands on.

Edo kept silent all the time, only indicating that he would also send lavish gifts when the time came. He refused to comment on Rune's departure or what Brron meant by that situation with Johan and Haou being a 'mission'.

 _I wonder where Kenzan is._ He hadn't come back from his jaunt to stretch his legs or whatever he'd wanted to go do, so they'd come to dinner without him. It wasn't impossible that he'd slipped out to go hunting on his own. Shapeshifters had to eat in their changed form as well as their human one, and that meant he had to catch and eat his own dinner on occasion.

Which Edo was more than glad enough to not see. He adored a good steak but he didn't care to kill it himself.

Not nearly soon enough the dinner came to an end, and as Edo and his entourage rose to depart, Brron shouted at them – without any need to shout because they weren't that far from him - "Tomorrow we settle this! And tomorrow your Hell Kaiser becomes mine! As do all of our shared borderlands!"

Now that hadn't been in the original bargain, but at this point, Edo suspected it was the wine that spoke, not Brron himself.

Not that Brron wouldn't be willing to take their borderlands for his own, but he wouldn't want to admit it out loud.

Edo did nothing but bend his head in vague, unworded acknowledgment, and with Saiou and Ryou by his side, headed right back to their quarters.

He wasn't surprised to find Kenzan there, back in human shape, and dozing on the couch. What did surprise him more than a little was that there was a box next to him, one that hummed softly of magic that reminded him a great deal of Johan.

"Where did this come from?" He directed the question towards Saiou but it was Kenzan who answered, snapping out of his sleep and sitting up.

"It was Rune. He gave it to me when I passed him in the hall a little while ago."

Well. Now this was _interesting_.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** One day I'll reveal who knows who and what they're all planning. Today is not that day.


	21. Chapter 21

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,374||story: 24,249|| **Chapters:** 21/30

* * *

Edo wanted to touch the crystal. He knew better than to do such a thing while they were in Brron's household. Coming from Rune or not – and he trusted that it did; Kenzan's senses were difficult to deceive – it could still be a trap of some kind.

He barely had to look before Saiou stepped up there, his violet eyes hinting at a mystic glow as he examined the crystal for himself. Edo waited, not quite certain what kind of result he wanted to get.

"It's not trapped and it seems immune to the scrying and warding spells Brron has around here. More to the point, I don't think that he can tell it even exists," Saiou reported. "I do believe Rune wants to talk to us."

Edo's lips twitched at that before he settled down, gesturing for the others to do the same. Another thought occurred as he did. "Brron can't tell that this is being used. Could he see something about what we're doing right now?"

"Even if he could, I think now is the perfect time to take that risk," Saiou replied. "You saw as well as I did how he 'celebrated' tonight. Even if he has someone else watching, I feel certain the crystal's enchantments will make certain they see nothing untoward."

Edo hoped Saiou was right about this. If anyone other than Brron tried to make some sort of 'report' on them anyway, then he could simply tell them that Rune sent a gift and it would've been quite rude to turn it down.

He reached out and set his hand on the crystal, a perfect sphere with a clarity he'd seldom seen before. That kind of clarity was what made enchanting it not only difficult but possible in the first place. Crystals with flaws in them couldn't always take the stronger communication spells for long periods of time. But something like this? It could last for years.

No sooner had he touched it than a puff of rich blue clouds appeared in it and then cleared away to reveal Rune looking up at them. He tilted his head to the side.

"Hello."

Edo didn't bother with continuing the greetings. He had too much already on his mind.

"Have you heard from Johan? Aside from the announcement, of course."

Rune chuckled for a moment, though Edo didn't think it was a very amused sound. "Just this morning. He told me the announcement would probably show up today."

"Anything else?" He knew what was supposed to happen; what they'd planned for. But if something else had turned up to disrupt those plans, he wanted to know about it.

"Nothing yet. Everything's going as planned." Rune leaned back on something, probably his couch. The crystal only showed him, though. "Which worries me."

As well it should. Plans that didn't have any hitches in them tended to mean that something was going to blow up sooner or later. The only question there would be if it could be in their favor or not. Edo refused to think it would be. Planning for the worst got more accomplished.

"Is there anything else going on here that we should know about?" Edo probed. Saiou and Kenzan made a very good information gathering pair, but with the way Brron not only warded everything in sight but made certain his servants didn't get close enough to visitors so they could learn anything, not all the information they needed was where they could get to it.

Before Rune could answer, Ryou leaned forward, intensity in his eyes.

"How did Shou get here?"

Edo didn't find himself surprised at all at the question. He probably should've asked it himself.

"The western slave traders. They'd been trying to break him and weren't having any real luck with it, so when Brron showed up and liked the idea of someone he could torture for himself?" Rune shrugged. "They practically gave him to Brron, since he was 'trouble'."

Ryou's lips curved for a quick moment before he assumed his normal neutral expression. "I should've expected that."

"He's Brron's body servant," Rune continued, confirming Edo's own speculation. "He's probably going to stay that way for a while, unless Brron loses his temper at him more than he has already. Or until we're done here."

Ryou betrayed nothing of any emotions by so much as the twitch of an eyelash.

"Tell me what he's done to him."

Edo listened with as much interest and intensity as Ryou did as Rune detailed out what Shou's life had been like here: an endless series of chores and services, beatings when he failed to come up to the proper standard, being locked in Brron's personal quarters every night in a room that could've generously be called a repurposed linen closet.

When he reached the end, Ryou said only four words.

"He's mine to kill."

No one chose to argue the point.

* * *

He'd wanted so much to at least try to slide a message or meet his brother's eyes at dinner. Just to do _something_.

Brron might not have even noticed this one time, not with how he'd kept throwing wine down his throat as if it were nothing more than water. He couldn't have had a _conversation_ with Ryou, but he could've done something and that was better than not doing anything.

 _I don't have anything to write a message on,_ he reminded himself, trying to make himself feel better anyway. _And that could've caused a lot more trouble anyway._

Shou hated so much about how his life revolved around making certain he didn't get Brron too angry. He hated being beaten or punished, and that meant he had to make certain he didn't do something that would spark one of those. Which led to being obedient, whether he liked it or not.

He'd noticed something about himself in the last few weeks, and it wasn't something that he liked. When he'd first come there, he'd done what Brron demanded of him because he had no other choice. He still had no choice, but every now and then, he could feel himself doing what he was told because he'd been told to do it.

Because he was Brron's slave and had to do what he was told.

Shou shook his head as hard as he could, hearing his hair brush against the cold stone of the walls around him. Brron snored loudly not that far away, the sound coming through as clear as if the door remained open. He paused for a few moments, listening for any indication that Brron would wake up.

 _I could kill him._ The thought slipped neatly into his mind and he could see no reason for him not to do it. Part of him wanted to hold back; he wasn't the type of person to kill someone else, no matter what.

But would killing Brron be murder or justice, given what he knew Brron did to him and to other people, for no other reason than the fact they existed?

Imp wasn't around. Imp would show up at first light to wake him up and get him started on his daily duties. He had only himself to consider for this.

 _I could kill him, but with what?_ He didn't have any weapons and he didn't know how to use any, and he didn't think smothering Brron with a pillow would work out.

He had no weapons. But Brron did. He'd seen a vast rack of weapons in one of the other rooms, one of the few he wasn't allowed inside of, _because_ of those weapons. One of them was a knife, sharp-edged and polished.

Shou slowly got to his feet. The idea of killing someone who couldn't fight back, too deep asleep and too drunk to wake up, hadn't ever occurred to him before. But he'd never been in this situation before, either.

He slipped out of the room and to the weapons room, bare feet making no sound on the stone floor. The knife was right where he remembered it, and sharp as death itself.

Then, taking each step as if it might be his last, Shou entered Brron's bedchamber and made his way to where his so-called master snored.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I wouldn't call it 'murder', Shou. More like self-defense given what Brron's like. But you are the type of person who avoided fighting even to defend yourself in Dark World in canon, so you do not see it as I do.


	22. Chapter 22

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,094||story: 25,343|| **Chapters:** 22/30

* * *

Every step Shou took towards Brron, he wanted to take back. But he kept going forward anyway. This was it. He was going to get rid of the monster that had tormented him for _months_ and done who knew what to other people for _years_ and then he could finally go see his brother, and anything else didn't matter to Shou in the slightest.

He stood by the bed. Brron lay on his back, a blanket haphazardly wrapped around him. It wasn't enough to stop the knife, if Shou brought it down hard enough.

He'd never taken fighting lessons, but he remembered watching when Ryou took his. He didn't remember everything about them, but putting a knife into whatever Brron had that was a heart couldn't be that difficult.

Physically, anyway. Mentally? Every other kind of way? Shou didn't know. Didn't want to know. He didn't want to know anything that might pull him back.

He raised the knife as high as he could and shoved every other thought out of his mind as he brought it down, slamming right through the blanket and into Brron's body.

Savage green eyes flew open and stared at him. Brron reached up and seized Shou by the throat, rising to his feet in the same motion. Shou struggled to get away, the bony fingers clenching harder around his neck, only able to make the smallest, weakest of squeaking noises.

"I wondered when you'd get up the nerve to try something," Brron laughed, reaching into his chest to pull the knife out. He admired it for a few moments. "And you even used one of my own. I might have called you clever for it, if this worked at all."

Shou's feet beat a tattoo of pain in the air as Brron raised him even higher.

"I've seen how you look at Phoenix's Champion. The two of you even look alike. You are connected and I want to know how." Brron's hideous lips twisted into something that never would be called a smile by anyone with any reasonable judgment. "You'll tell me everything that I want to know before your execution."

Shou kept trying to shake his head, but the more Brron's grip tightened, the less strength he had to do anything. Brron either didn't notice or didn't care. If Shou had the strength to choose, he would've said that he didn't care.

"But I don't trust you not to try to keep secrets."

Darkness gathered around the edges of Shou's vision. His feet stopped moving and his hands no longer grasped at Brron's wrists, dropping down by his sides. He could breathe, but only barely, just enough to keep himself alive.

He didn't want to tell anything. But Brron's twisted laugh followed him into unconsciousness as he slumped down, breath robbed from his throat, and strength fading past the point of return.

* * *

As soon as the slave passed out, Brron dropped him into a corner and conjured up manacles to keep him in place. The brat wouldn't recover for hours under normal circumstances.

Brron wasn't going to let normal circumstances apply here. Not when he had so much tempting fun right at his fingertips. Not only would Johan soon bring him the greatest of the kingdoms as a gift, but now he could enjoy himself tormenting this little idiot who thought he could kill his master.

The brat had been showing too many signs of submission anyway. He wasn't nearly as much fun to play with anymore.

Brron sent a quick messenger for one of his more rarely used servants: a spellcaster whose abilities focused around dragging information out of the minds of others. It wasn't an ability Brron found useful very often, since he insisted on being surrounded by those devoted to him, but it did come in handy now and then.

Such as now.

The similarities between his slave and Phoenix's were what tugged at his mind, and the slight glances the two shot toward one another made it even more interesting. Never long enough for anyone else to notice, but Brron saw _everything_. If they hadn't mildly resembled one another, he would've dismissed it as something harmless. Perhaps they'd known one another at the slave pens. That wasn't such a surprise.

But this had to be something more. And Brron would find out what it was.

* * *

Brron wasn't at breakfast. Neither was Shou. Of course, Rune wasn't, but no one expected him.

Brron had been expected.

"Maybe he's got a hangover?" Kenzan muttered. Edo chose not to shush him. As far as he knew, that was perfectly plausible, and one of the reasons he'd limited himself in his own drinking. They were going to settle matters today and he wanted a clear head no matter what.

He looked across the table and a bit farther down to where Champion Asuka dined. She looked back toward him, their eyes meeting. She said nothing, but bent her head in a polite gesture.

Rune mentioned the night before that they weren't certain of why Asuka fought for Brron. He hadn't even known she was there until the day before. Edo suspected blackmail or twisted magic of some kind, favoring blackmail if only because Saiou mentioned nothing at all about any enchantments around her.

He wanted to talk to her more. Any sort of ally they could find in this time would be useful.

Even without Brron there, the final confrontation would go on regardless. After breakfast, everyone gathered in the arena for the third and last time. Once again Asuka and Ryou stood face to face, but instead of edged weapons, they carried their duel disks.

Asuka began to draw her first hand of cards, when Brron's voice crackled across the arena, and all eyes turned to where he stood.

"I declare this contest canceled, and declare myself the victor!"

He stood proud and tall, even in his ragged robe, staring down at Edo and his entourage with a smug smirk. "Edo Phoenix, you are removed from your position as a Great Lord and all that was yours now belongs to me, for now and forever: your lands, your people, _and especially_ your Champion: Hell Kaiser Marufuji Ryou."

Ryou's full name hadn't ever been spoken here. Brron stepped forward, laughing. "Brother to my _former_ body slave, Marufuji Shou… who has been condemned to die for attempted murder of his master. And I decree that _you_ , my new Champion," here he pointed one bony finger toward Ryou, "will be the one to execute the sentence: and execute him."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Too bad, Shou. But Brron is very used to people trying to kill him. Also, you guys have no idea of how happy I was that you enjoyed Shou's attempt so much. I hope you like this final arc of the story just as much.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Word Count:** chapter: 1,088|| **Story Word Count:** 26,431|| **Chapter Count:** 23/30

* * *

Edo recovered first. He had to be quick on his feet for this, before Ryou just abandoned anything that vaguely resembled protocol and went to ram his Duel Disk into whatever vulnerable parts of Brron that he could find.

"By what right do you claim any of this?" Edo folded his arms over his chest and gave Brron his very best _I am ticked off and I_ _ **will**_ _take it out on you_ stare.

Brron laughed, then reached behind himself and dragged something small and battered out into view. Edo heard what Ryou breathed at the sight of his brother and would've added on more if he hadn't had to keep his attention on Brron.

"By the fact that this little nuisance attempted to kill me. By my rights I could've had him beheaded the moment he tried it, but I was _generous_. I will let his dear brother, the one he's hoped to meet again for _so long_ be the one to do the honors."

Brron leaned forward, horrendous teeth bared in a ferocious smile. "And more so, I can accomplish everything I've said by our mutual laws: because our slaves are kindred, then the actions of one reflect on another, and the actions of our slaves reflect on us. It is as if _your Champion_ attempted to kill me, which is the same as if you ordered it yourself!"

He smiled even more. "I know that you didn't. You're _honorable_. But that doesn't matter anymore, does it?" He pointed toward Ryou again. "I intend to punish this piece of dung for a suitable time period before you carry out the sentence."

Edo looked at his entourage. There wasn't a single hint of dispute from any of them. Then he turned back toward Brron.

"No. The laws, as you've demonstrated multiple times in the past, are there only for those who choose to go by them, and regardless of any blood connection between Ryou and Shou, you have no right to anything that you've claimed. If you wish to fight me for my possessions, in the way that we agreed, then this duel continues. Otherwise, _sit down and shut up_."

Brron's amused expression morphed to one of absolute fury. He shook Shou hard, as if trying to make a point just by that alone.

"Do you think any of the others would dare to stand against me? Do any of you _here_ stand against me? My _current_ Champion could kill all of you!"

Edo glanced toward Asuka, the side of his mouth quirking. "What would you ask to join my entourage?"

"My brother is in one of Brron's prison cells," she replied without a breath of hesitation. "Free him and give us safe passage back to our home, and I'll do whatever you'd like."

Edo nodded. "It's a bargain."

Asuka walked over to stand beside Ryou, her sword ready in one hand, duel disk in another, ready to discard one for the other at a moment's notice.

Brron's bellow shook the entire arena. "Your brother will never see another dawn! How dare you betray me!"

Asuka leveled her steely gaze at him. "You intended to betray us first: to deny our bargain and force us to remain here against our will. At least Lord Edo offers _freedom_ and will grant it."

"You think that, don't you? Why would he own a slave if he believed in _freedom_ and _promises_?" Brron laughed even harder, almost dropping Shou in his mirth.

Edo looked at Ryou. Ryou looked back at him. One eyebrow quirked up, a silent question with an answer that Edo looked forward to giving from the moment they'd set out here.

"I don't." Edo said. "I don't own any slaves."

A slave's collar was enchanted to never be removed save by their owner, or someone enspelled to allow the removal. Ryou lifted his head enough so that all could see the silver collar around his neck, then reached up and pulled the collar off of his neck, offering it back to Edo.

"He's not my slave. He is my Champion, but he's free." Edo rested one hand now on Ryou's arm. "And more than that: he is _our_ consort."

He reached out with his other hand to take Saiou's. Their bonding wasn't always spoken of, but it wasn't a deep secret, either.

The fact Ryou had joined in it some months earlier _was_ a deep secret.

Saiou moved to where the three of them stood, hands together, and met Brron's eyes with his own terrifying violet glare.

"As Ryou is not a slave, then your claims that _might_ allow you to take Edo's status and possessions away from him are null and void. You will return his brother and you will release Asuka's brother and we _might_ think about not rendering you and your entire holding into little more than a vague memory."

He smiled, and it was a smile that would've sent most reasonable people running for cover, a smile of chaos.

" _Might_."

* * *

Brron would've thrown the quasi-conscious Shou down towards them if he'd thought they'd stay and be properly defeated instead of just grabbing him and running out.

This wasn't going at all the way that he'd planned it. In his plans, they'd cowered at his feet, plead for their lives, and he'd magnanimously allowed one or two of them to live. Not Phoenix, of course; he couldn't properly take over the other's lands without executing all of those who could have any sort of claim to them. But he would definitely claim Hell Kaiser as his new champion and the shapeshifter as his new pet.

But everyone else could die screaming.

And yet they didn't fear him! They looked back at him with defiance and they dared to _lie_ to him! All of his observances showed nothing at all between _any_ of them that would be how consorts behaved around one another.

At least not how he thought they did. He'd never taken one and never wanted one, but his research indicated that they at least shared a bed. They'd done nothing of the sort while they were in his domain. He would've _known_!

He raised one hand, attracting the attention of his warriors. If they didn't want to play this the political way, that was fine with him. He'd never liked politics anyway. He pointed toward the small gathering.

"Kill them all except for Hell Kaiser and the lizard. Those I want restrained and brought before me."

And with those words, battle began.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** May I present a new OT3 that's been slowly growing on me: Edo/Saiou/Ryou. Why should I pick Destinyshipping or Proshipping when I can have it _all_?


	24. Chapter 24

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,194||story: 27,625|| **Chapters:** 24/30

* * *

"Too many variables," Saiou reported even as he moved to guard Edo's back. Battle wasn't his forte, but he could see an attempt at murder coming a mile away when it concerned Edo – and his skill in that in regards to Ryou grew by leaps and bounds.

Edo nodded, already turning toward Ryou and not surprised in the least to see one Cyber Dragon and Cyber Dark Keel in front of him. What did surprise him was that in front of Asuka there stood a female warrior that he didn't recognize, clad in bits of black armor and with a deep red headdress hiding her eyes.

"Is that Cyber Angel Idaten?" Ryou asked. Asuka nodded right away, her deck in hand, scanning for whoever would dare to attack first. "Do you study the Cyber way of dueling?"

Edo couldn't recall Ryou actually sounding _that_ interested in something in the time they'd known one another. He suspected they'd see a lot more of Asuka, at least until the two of them exhausted the details of their Cyber style.

"I do. And so do you, I see."

"My teacher was Samejima," Ryou replied, hints of pride rising in his voice. He gestured with one hand and Cyber Dragon darted forward, lashing into an oncoming line of warriors and eliminating them.

"We can talk more later," Asuka promised, sending Idaten after another group of fighters. "We have something else to do now."

Ryou nodded, and the two warriors sank at once into the all-consuming flames of combat.

Edo fiddled with his deck. He didn't especially like to use it in fights like this, especially since there wasn't much more room to call anyone else out. He kept most of his attention on Brron, who kept waving his arms, trying to send more people against them, and already having so many that all they were really doing was getting in each other's way.

And then, without warning, he snapped a command for all of his people to fall back. With Shou held tight in his grip still, Brron leaped down to face them all directly, sneering.

"You think that you're too strong for me? That you can win this because you are pure of heart or whatever nonsense you've told yourselves?"

Ryou snorted. Saiou let out a soft laugh. Edo let himself smile.

"I don't know what nonsense that you've been hearing, but _pure of heart_ doesn't describe any of us. We'll win because we're stronger than you. Because _someone_ has to take you down, and frankly, Haou is a little too busy planning his wedding to bother with that right now."

Brron snarled, eyes flashing alarming green. "As if he would help you anyway! He's fallen under my son's spell and soon he'll be as dead as all of you are going to be! There's not a thing that any of you can do about it!"

"I wouldn't be all that certain if I were you. At least about them not being able to do anything about it."

Brron's head jerked up to see Rune standing on one of the higher balconies of the castle. Before the overlord could say anything, Rune raised one hand.

"This is technically part of my quarters, _father_. I can be out here if I want to be. If you don't want to see me, then _don't look_."

What Brron said then couldn't have been repeated in any sort of polite company, even if that polite company wanted to hear it in the first place.

"I wonder if your dear brother might want a wedding present of your _head_ , boy!" That was the first coherent sentence out of Brron's mouth.

Rune shrugged. "Probably not. But the point is that they can beat you and I'm going to stand up here and watch while they do. What do you have that could stop them?"

Brron dragged Shou up by the hair of his head. The human's eyes remained mostly closed, bruises left by whip and Brron's hands covered most of his body, and only a close look could confirm that he still breathed.

"I have this. I want _my new Champion_ to fulfill his death sentence, but if he wishes to be stubborn, I'll do it myself. And he can watch!"

Brron brought out a sharp dagger and held it against Shou's throat. "This is what he tried to kill me with. I think it's only fitting that I end _his_ life with it, don't you?"

Not a one of them moved. Ryou wanted to; Edo could see it in every line of his body, straining against his better instincts. Even he couldn't get to Shou before Brron finished him.

"I don't duel, father. You know that. You've always called me weak because of it. Because I can do things that aren't violent and don't hurt other people." Rune fiddled with something in his hands. "But because of that, I can do something that you can't: I can make friends."

Rune raised one hand and Edo couldn't see what card it was, but two words rang out from Rune's lips.

" _Shine Angel_!"

Edo had never heard of this being before. But what arose from the card was a beautiful man, robed in white, and with four white wings rising from his shoulders. Rune lost no time, either.

"Get that guy from Brron! _This is it_!"

Shine Angel darted forward and before Brron could move the deadly blade closer to Shou's neck, the angel whirled, sharp-edged feathers slashing suddenly through the air, piercing Brron in half a dozen places, and not one of them coming anywhere near Shou.

And then he grabbed Shou from Brron's loosening grip and headed right back up to Rune's balcony.

Edo turned to Ryou. "You said that you wanted to kill him yourself." He gestured toward Brron. "I don't think anything else is stopping you anymore."

Seldom did Ryou smile, which made the sight spreading across his features all the more wonderful now. He stalked toward Brron, and not one of Brron's warriors dared to so much as try to get in his way.

Brron barely got back on his feet as Ryou stood in front of him, proud and strong and unyielding, a warrior and a duelist from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

And without so much as a word of challenge, Ryou seized Brron by the throat and lifted him up as high as he could. "Do you think you can beat _me_ in a fight?" Ryou asked. "Or do you need someone to be smaller and weaker than you to stand a chance?"

Brron snarled words that should've seared the ground all around them. Ryou stood unmoved, then set Brron down, reaching for his duel disk, his sword now sheathed.

Brron moved, far faster than any of them might've imagined he could have, and came up with the dagger he'd had before. He made no move to defend himself, but shot forward to bury the blade to the hilt in the center of Ryou's chest.

"No, I don't," Brron snarled, "but it's more fun when they don't see it coming."

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** I've always liked Shine Angel. And no, I will not save Ryou's life by having Camula turn up and vampire him nor will Shine Angel manifest healing powers to fix the damage.


	25. Chapter 25

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,094||story: 28,719|| **Chapters:** 25/30

* * *

Shou didn't think he could stand up on his own. Sitting down would've been good, but he hadn't been let go to do that for what felt like forever. Misty memories ghosted through his thoughts, the majority of them being of himself screaming as Brron's lackey tore into his mind, plucking out anything and everything that he found even remotely interesting.

Shou wasn't sure if he actually put the memories back or not, given that just stringing a few words together in what might've been a coherent fashion – he was in no condition to judge – remained the peak of his mental capacity.

But with or without any memories, he knew the sound of Brron's laughter, and the cackle that came after it sent chills all through him. He didn't understand why Brron laughed like this but it didn't mean anything good. It couldn't. Brron _never_ meant anything good.

He tried to drag his eyes open, to make a sound that made sense, and couldn't accomplish either of those.

A warm hand touched the side of his face. He couldn't quite process what was different about this touch than anything else he'd ever encountered and he didn't have the strength to focus on it, so he didn't bother.

"Rest," a voice that he didn't recognize said, and he thought it was because he'd never heard it, not because of his battered mind. "Everything will be all right."

Shou didn't believe it. As long as Brron lived, nothing could be all right, and nothing could kill that monster.

That one memory remained fierce and vivid: the knife stabbing down into Brron and doing absolutely nothing. Was Brron just that much of a monster that not even steel could destroy him? Or had Shou just done something wrong?

That didn't matter a great deal in the long run and he let the memory slip away, replaced with trying to focus on what was going on around him now.

Which he still couldn't entirely do, because there was just so much going on, far too much for him to focus on anything in particular, and he knew if he tried to do that anyway, he'd lose out on so much more, and most of that he'd probably want to know anyway.

Sharp, clear, angry words did break through to him, whether he wanted them to or not. And while he understood what was said, their meaning slipped and danced away.

He let them. He didn't want to understand them now.

"He's still breathing. Stronger than I thought he would be. Perhaps I'll just cut his throat and be done with it. It would be good practice for when I finish off his useless little brother!"

Some of that began to click through. Shou tried to push it away. Not because of the threat to his own life – he'd known Brron would kill him since the moment those fingers closed around his neck – but the thought that Brron somehow was going to … he wanted to… he thought he could…

Shou refused to let that sink in _at all_. If anyone killed Ryou, it wouldn't be someone like Brron. Not someone who used people and hated people.

But there wasn't anything that he could do to stop it, if that was really what Brron meant.

Maybe it wasn't. He liked that idea. He could be hearing something else altogether, and his battered mind and body twisting it.

He let his eyes slide closed again and tried to find a better place, a softer place, a place where he could rest and talk to his brother and find out what had happened to him in all this time.

It would be a magnificent story, he just knew it. What other kind could his brother be in?

* * *

Flash of pain. Flash of light. Hovering darkness, but not the darkness of death, nor the welcome embrace of a new life and a new chance in the world.

Just pain and light, and even that wasn't the cruel light that he'd heard about in stories as a child. This was just the light of _being alive_.

Ryou wondered why he was alive. He shouldn't have been. He wasn't a physician under any circumstances, but he had a good idea of what happened when someone rammed a knife in your heart and it wasn't just being in incredible pain and barely being able to move.

Granted, the pain was bad enough, and he didn't want to die. He had far too much that he wanted to do in life. He hadn't reached his peak as a warrior or a duelist. He'd spent only a fraction of the time that he wanted to with Edo and Saiou. He'd just found Shou again, and so much remained to be sorted out there.

And they hadn't taken down Brron yet. Nor had he seen Juudai and Johan wed one another. They'd made him promise that he would be there. He didn't want to let them down.

There was also this new friend, Tenjoin Asuka, who used the same Cyber-style that he once had. How had she learned it and who taught it to her? She'd spoken of a brother. What would he be like?

Too much remained to do in this world for him to want to leave it just yet. So he clung to life with every ounce of strength he had. He couldn't defend himself if he needed to, and he knew that he'd need to. Brron spoke of just slitting his throat.

 _I think...I..._

It wasn't so much an action as it was a thought, but he'd fought long and hard to bond himself to his dragons, and they'd defended him when he'd been unable to do so himself at times.

 _Cyber...End...Dragon..._

He didn't know if he thought the words or if he managed to speak them. If spoken, they were little more than a whisper that held only a fraction of breath.

"Eternal… Evolution… Burst."

He'd sworn that he would kill Brron. Even with all that he wanted to do with his life and those who shared it, he wanted to make sure he did that above all else.

Calling upon one's monsters took a certain amount of strength. It was why many of the attacks of a duel reflected upon the duelists themselves. The stronger the monster, the more strength it took from the one who called it.

Cyber End Dragon was one of the strongest monsters in existence. Ryou gave his strength gladly, and then let the darkness descend upon him.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Ryou is too damn stubborn to die because of Brron. But will that stubbornness be enough? ... probably. Maybe. If the right help gets there in time.


	26. Chapter 26

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,235||story: 29,954|| **Chapters:** 26/30

* * *

Everything sped forward at a rapid pace, almost too fast for Edo to properly work it all out. He did manage to pare it down to the bare essentials: Ryou tried to battle Brron, Brron stabbed him, and even after he fell, Ryou's Cyber End Dragon reared upwards out of thin air. It hadn't been there before, it just was, between one breath and the next, in front of Ryou.

His first thought on that was that it would simply vanish. He'd heard that it could happen to a monster when their bonded partner perished.

He didn't want to think about Ryou not being there anymore. Shouldn't Saiou have seen that? Their mutual bond wasn't as strong as what existed between him and Saiou, but something like this should've given _some_ kind of warning.

And then Cyber End Dragon unleashed brilliant fire upon Brron, who had no more room to move and no time to get out of the way before it consumed him without mercy.

Cyberdark Dragon appeared next to its bright counterpart and nosed toward what used to be Brron and was now little more than a pile of revolting ashes. Then it turned toward Ryou, as did Cyber End, one to his right hand, the other to his left, an honor guard for the fallen.

"He's still alive," Saiou said, his eyes resting on Ryou's body. "But perhaps not for much longer."

Edo shot a speedy look toward where Rune and Shine Angel remained, Shou still in the angel's arms, hardly any more aware of what was going on around him than Ryou himself. He needed to say nothing at all, as Shine Angel carried both of them down to the arena.

Brron's warriors stood where they were, most of them too confused and terrified to do much else at the moment. Rune turned to look at them all.

"Since my brother is still Brron's legal heir, since he hasn't yet married Haou, that makes _him_ the new ruler of these lands. And since he's not here, I will act in his stead: if you're not truly loyal to Johan, then you are no longer welcome here. If you try to stay and you're not, then once we find out your true loyalties, I don't think you'll want to know what will happen then."

A wave of a whisper swept over them all, and Edo did not find himself surprised as more and more of them began to slide away out of sight. They would find some other master to serve, one who wasn't like Johan at all.

And good riddance to all of them.

But some did stand there, and one of them moved closer. Heather the Holy Elf knelt down next to Ryou and examined him with a critical eye.

"It's a good thing that he drank that potion I offered him last night," she said. "The extra stamina it gave him is keeping him on this side of death long enough for me to heal the wound and restore his strength to some degree."

She glanced to where Shou still lay in Shine Angel's arms, then reached out one hand to rest upon his forehead.

"But this one will need more work than I can give. His mind has been twisted, nearly broken in twain, and not just by Brron's treatment of him. This is new."

Now Saiou's hand rested on Shou's forehead and he frowned as much as Heather did.

"I might be able to help him," he offered thoughtfully. "But it will take some time. He's not just physically battered, but that mind damage won't heal easily."

His gaze shifted back to where Ryou lay. "His brother recovering could help. I think each of them healing will help the other."

Heather nodded in agreement before she moved back to Ryou, murmuring what Edo hoped were spells of healing under her breath. Ryou would need all the help that he could get.

"You're all welcome here as long as you'd care to stay," Rune said into the following silence. He looked toward Asuka. "I'll have your brother released right away." His gaze flicked back to Shine Angel, who flitted away on those great white wings of his.

Edo followed him with his eyes before he looked back at Rune. "Where did _he_ come from?"

"My father. My _real_ father, not Brron." Rune looked down at the card in his hands before he put it away inside of his coat. "It's the only thing that I have left of him that's mine. He and I have known one another since I was about ten or twelve. He stays in his card most of the time because he didn't want Brron finding him. Neither did I, for that matter."

He offered a small smile. "He's why Johan was willing to leave me here. If Brron truly did anything that would've _hurt_ me, Shine Angel would've stopped him." He shrugged. "But now that he's gone, Shine can stay with me. And he's talked about traveling. Maybe we can go find his brother."

"Brother?"

"He's an angel, too. His name's Honest. They haven't seen each other in a long time, or so Shine tells me." Rune waited until Holy Elf brought Ryou to a state where he could be moved before suggesting that they all go inside.

Settling Ryou and Shou in one of the more comfortable public rooms, the rest of them – Rune, Saiou, Edo himself, Asuka, and Kenzan – made themselves as comfortable as they could. Most of the inhabitants of the castle were still packing up their belongings and heading out, some of them pausing to give poisoned pleasant words of farewell to Rune, who gave them only the barest looks in return.

Those good-byes slipped away the longer that Kenzan stood there in his raptor form, glaring with hungry eyes, until the last few remnants departed through ways that didn't take them by that room.

"Come on! Let me through!" An unfamiliar male voice cried out. "I don't care what's down there, I just know my _sister_ is, and I want to see her!"

Asuka leaped to her feet, the lines of worry written over her features vanishing at once, and hurried to the door. "Big brother Fubuki!"

The man who entered at her call stood almost as tall as Ryou did, with tousled brown hair and cheerful eyes, and a battered lute over his back. He slipped that into his arms the moment he finished hugging Asuka and started to wave it around fiercely.

"Did you see what they did to my lute? How am I supposed to play it when they broke all the strings and there's a crack right there!" He held it out closer. "See!"

Asuka stared at him for a few moments before she shook her head and smiled, turning back to the group that waited there. "My lord Rune, my lord Phoenix, this is my brother, Tenjoin Fubuki. Fubuki, these are the ones who helped us, and who defeated Brron."

Fubuki waved at them all. "I'd sing a song about that, but first, I need to compose one, and second, I need something better than this to play it on."

All of them simply stared at him. Edo hadn't ever met someone like him before in his life. He didn't think he'd thought such a person could exist.

Today remained full of surprise.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Brron didn't deserve a huge dramatic death. Brron deserved a quick painful death and then the proper healing can begin. Johan will be sorry he missed Cyber End flambeing Brron, though.


	27. Chapter 27

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,110||story: 31,064|| **Chapters:** 27/30

* * *

Shou floated on a bed of unbelievable softness. By that token alone he knew he was dreaming, but he didn't want to wake up. He wanted to stay in this happy world where no one was hurting him and there were people who cared about him there, and most of all, his _brother_ was there, and he didn't have to worry about losing him ever, ever again.

He knew it wouldn't happen. He'd have to wake up sooner or later, and he'd be back in that nightmare of a life, if only for however long it took for Brron to finally get bored of him and finish him completely.

Maybe that wouldn't be so very bad. Whatever lay on the other side of death couldn't possibly be any worse than what life was like now. Maybe it would even be better.

He'd heard a lot about what came after death, and it usually seemed to depend on what you'd done while alive. He'd most done good things. He thought. He'd tried.

Would trying to kill Brron count as a good thing? Did failing at it make it better or worse?

Why didn't priests tell you things like this? He honestly had no idea and no matter how far the golden clouds around him stretched, they didn't seem to hold any answers on that score.

Maybe he'd just stay here in this endless glittering cloud-void forever. He could get behind that. He wasn't all that thrilled at the thought of being _alone_ forever, but staying here instead of being back where the pain lurked in waiting for him could only be an improvement.

 _You can't stay here._

He didn't recognize the voice, but whoever it was didn't feel like they were lecturing him or reprimanding him. They just made a simple statement.

He blinked and tried to figure out where the voice came from. "Who are you?"

 _My name is Saiou Takuma. I know your brother very well._

If he'd possessed a body – and he only now realized that he kind of didn't – he would've jumped to his feet in raw joy. "You know my brother?"

 _Yes, I do. I know him more than you might expect, as you weren't aware enough to hear Edo's rather dramatic announcement of our union._

With or without eyes and a body to have them in, Shou blinked again. He felt a blink anyway. Whatever.

"Union?"

Something that might well have been a laugh.

 _Your brother, Edo, and I are consorts to one another. We made it official shortly before we departed on this trip, but we've been close since not long after we met._

Memories teased and danced at the back of Shou's mind, of the destruction of their home village and how the survivors had been shoved into wagons and carried away for days.

And on one of those days they'd stopped for a rest near a tidy, well-kept town, and someone came from that town, someone wearing white, with silver-tinged hair and eyes like twin pieces of the sky…

 _Yes. That was Edo. He needed a new Champion and quickly. He had no time to seek out a free warrior; he'd been challenged for his position by a skilled warrior, and could not fight on his own behalf. So when he saw your brother and could see the potential for a great warrior within him..._

Yes. Shou knew that part. Lord Edo Phoenix bought his brother and took him away without a single thought for anyone else.

 _Not quite true. His own problems did keep him from paying full attention at the time, but once Ryou spoke of you, he kept a watch out for you wherever he could. Ryou did not speak of you often, though._ Saiou remained silent for a few heartbeats. _I believe it hurt him more than he wished to admit to, to think that you were in a situation where he couldn't get to you._

Words choked in the throat Shou didn't have anymore. He wanted to rage and scream. He wanted to shout that it wasn't fair, that Edo treated his brother like a god, clearly gave him his freedom, and all that time, he'd been being beaten and 'trained', or given to Brron and terrified beyond the ability to think clearly for months on end.

 _There is no excuse for any of that. There are reasons, but not excuses. And this I tell you now: you will never need to fear Brron again._

Shou hunched over, shaking his head. "As long as he's alive, I think I'd be afraid of him." It didn't hurt so much, to say it here. Here where it was just him and a voice that he couldn't even put a proper face to.

 _As I said, you'll never need to fear him again. I know no more than you about what comes after death, but whatever punishment awaits those like Brron, he is enjoying it right now, and likely for the remainder of time._

Shou tried to say something. To at least think something. Anything. But the idea of Brron being _dead_ , never again to harm him or anyone else refused to sink into him. He'd dealt much easier with the thought of his brother losing in a battle than he had this.

 _In point of fact, it was your brother who did it, almost with his last breath._

The idea of Brron finally being dead vanished absolutely from Shou's mind.

"Ryou… big brother...he's..." Other memories surfaced, Brron's mocking laughter, and words declaring Brron's desire to kill his brother… "He's...he's dead?"

No. It couldn't be. It _couldn't be_. He'd find a way to locate his brother's soul and shove him back to life, trade his own for Ryou to live again. Ryou had so much more awaiting him than Shou _ever_ would, and he deserved to let it all happen to him.

He deserved to have a life with these people who must have cared about him – who must care about him now – if they _married_ him and he wanted Ryou to have that happiness. It wasn't something that would ever happen to _him_ , but it should happen to _one_ of them, at the very least.

 _Shou..._

Little more than a whisper, not of Saiou's voice, but one that he'd never thought to hear again. Slowly Shou swallowed.

"Big… big brother?"

It was time to say good-bye, wasn't it? Shou recalled stories like this. Either Ryou wasn't fully gone yet, or his spirit hung around to say good-bye.

Well. That wasn't going to happen. Not on Shou's watch. Not now and not _ever_.

"Big brother Ryou… _don't you dare leave!_ "

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** And we're on the final streak now.


	28. Chapter 28

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,233||story: 32,297|| **Chapters:** 28/30

* * *

If he'd seen Ryou at all, Shou would've thrown himself down, grabbed onto his legs, and hung on with all of his strength to make certain his brother didn't go anywhere, let alone to any kind of afterlife. It wasn't right. It wasn't _time_. Ryou had far too much to do in the world.

He'd go. He'd _gladly_ go in his brother's stead.

"Shou. Calm down."

Shou could almost see his brother's face now, a quick memory of sharp eyes and strong hands, a sternness that would not ease up, that always demanded the best, no matter what. He swallowed a little.

"I don't want you to die." That was it. He wanted his brother to be _happy_ , somehow. And he'd do whatever he could to make it happen.

"I don't want to die. And I don't think that I'm going to." Ryou didn't sound utterly convince of that, so Shou wasn't going to take it as a given. "At least not any time soon."

Well, of course. Everyone died sooner or later. But that wasn't what Shou meant and he knew it and he thought Ryou knew it. He sniffled, trying to figure out what he could do to make sure that Ryou survived, no matter what he thought.

"You'd better not. I … I hear you got married? Sort of?" At least he could have one last conversation, no matter how it worked. He wasn't all that sure _he_ was going to live, come to think of it.

This strange place of thoughts and sounds and emotions didn't allow for Ryou to laugh, but the amusement rippled through nevertheless.

"You need to meet Saiou and Edo." As always, Ryou chose his words with precision. "They are very special to me."

 _And you to us,_ Saiou put in. _Don't waste your time now, though. I can't keep this up forever._

Shou wondered just what Saiou had to do with this. As clearly as if he'd spoken the thought, Ryou answered it.

"Saiou is a psychic. Perhaps the most powerful one that I've ever encountered. He's connected our minds so we can have this talk. It's easier than waiting to wake up, and much faster as well."

Shou wished he had a head to rub and fingers to rub it with. So little of those made any sense to him except for the glaringly obvious fact that one or both of them was going to die, and he wanted to change that to 'one of them' and for it to be him so that Ryou had the life he deserved.

"Big brother," he murmured, turning his attention to where he could feel Ryou's awareness. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this. Like I was … out there." Battered and broken, doing the things Brron told him to do. He could've done so much more and he hadn't.

"Shou. You _survived_. For all that Brron tried to break you, he didn't. You bent, because anyone would have. Even I have. But you survived and you are the cause of his defeat: because I killed him _for you_."

Shou tried to say something – he didn't quite know what – and Ryou cut him off. "We are both going to live. Do you know Heather, the Holy Elf? She's been working with both of us. Saiou has helped you, because the wounds to your mind were as bad as the ones to my body."

Again Shou tried to speak and Ryou kept going. "Your body would've lived regardless. But whatever Brron did to your mind would've resulted in you being little more than a drooling idiot for the rest of your days."

If Shou had a mouth, it would've closed in shock from that alone.

"Saiou is working to help you with that. This is part of his help, or so he tells me. Heather healed _me_ , though according to Saiou, I won't actually wake up for some days to come. You could wake up sooner."

Shou could once again imagine Ryou's cool gaze on him.

"I want you to do something for me. If you can."

Shou pulled himself up as much as he could, head high. He didn't care what it was. He would do this.

"I want you to live, Shou. Can you do that? _Will_ you do that?"

Silence closed itself around Shou now. Ryou hadn't ever asked anything of him like that. It was what he didn't want to do if he could find a way around it. He couldn't think of anything that he had to live _for_.

 _I can. But it would be better if you saw your reason for yourself. And you will, if you can manage to survive and take up living again._

Shou's fingers clenched at Saiou's words. He wanted to ask what this was, but he could already tell that Saiou wouldn't tell him. That left him really with just one choice. Was that even a real choice then?

"I… I'll live." If they were both going to live, then it wouldn't be that bad, would it? He'd have his brother and he could meet new friends, like these people who were his brothers in law or something like that. Would they go back to where Lord Phoenix lived? He didn't want to stay in Brron's place, no matter who ruled it now.

 _And that is part of the surprise awaiting you. But I think it's time that you rested now. When you wake up, you'll start seeing what the future lies in store._ A moment of hesitance there. _But not like I do._

For all of his confusion at what was going on, Shou found himself suddenly grateful for this strange Saiou person. Because if it weren't for that he might well not have heard his brother laughing.

* * *

Saiou slowly put both Ryou and Shou's hands back on their beds and dragged his eyes open. Edo stood beside him and without any questions, extended his arms to help Saiou stand. He would need to rest himself. Putting their minds in contact took far more of his strength than he'd imagined, but he would do it again. He could feel them both healing at a somewhat faster pace now, and told Edo just that.

"Thank you," Edo murmured, guiding Saiou to the third bed in the room. Rune made certain they had everything they would need until the time came to return home, which wouldn't be until at _least_ Ryou was back on his feet. Shou would make his own decision on where he went, but most of the group suspected he would stay with his brother.

Kenzan lurked by the door. He'd spent most of his time since Brron's defeat roaming the castle, making certain no one was around who might still be loyal to the evil overlord, and eating. He checked on Ryou and Shou regularly, though, so seeing him there now wasn't a surprise either.

"Got a message," he murmured as Edo turned toward him. "They're gonna be here in about a week." His lips parted into a sudden grin. "He says you're in trouble for not letting him turn Brron into a pile of ashes."

Edo sniffed. "He should've been here himself if he wanted the pleasure."

Saiou chuckled, even as he pulled a blanket over his head. Oh, this was a visit he looked forward to so very much.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** Someone is coming...


	29. Chapter 29

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,213||story: 33,510|| **Chapters:** 29/30

* * *

Shou took one step after another toward the balcony. The longer he stood up and moved around and could see everything around him, the more it began to sink into him that all of it was real. Brron really was dead. Now Rune ruled here, on Johan's behalf, and most people presumed that Rune would probably remain as head seneschal or whatever the term would be, since Johan wouldn't rule there personally, not after marrying Haou.

Rumor also had it that Haou would be there soon and that kind of made Shou shiver a little.

 _He can't be all that bad if Johan's marrying him, can he?_ Shou tried to tell himself that, but that one he still had a bit of difficulty convincing himself of. There had been _some_ kind of plan involving Johan going there anyway and he didn't want to ask anyone what that was. Curiosity burned him alive on it, but he kept the questions all behind his teeth.

Enjoying the sun meant much more to him than worrying about what might happen, though. He sank down into the comfortable chair on the balcony and let out a content sigh. Not that far away, Ryou turned his head to look at him, a tiny smile on his lips.

He said nothing, but standing with one foot in death's door hadn't changed that about Ryou: he seldom spoke save when he truly had something to say. Right now, he seemed to be doing just what Shou was going to do: soaking up the sunshine and enjoying yet another peaceful evening.

This balcony had a good view of the training grounds below, and they could see that warrior Tenjoin Asuka and Lord Phoenix sparring with one another. Shou couldn't tell for the life of him which one was getting the better of the other, but he enjoyed watching anyway.

He liked watching either Lord Phoenix or Consort Saiou no matter what they were doing, since watching them helped him get to know them better, and they were kind of family now. He still hadn't gotten all the details on how Ryou ended up with both of them. What he did get was that the two of them had been together before Ryou came along, and the situation expanded to include him. But that was only the smallest sketch of what happened.

So he watched, and as far as he could tell, Lord Phoenix at the least was a skilled warrior and duelist, not to mention having an endless font of sarcasm, which meant that he and Ryou worked very well together.

"He is amazing," Ryou murmured and Shou turned toward him. A hint of a smile touched on Ryou's lips. "But don't tell him that. I'd rather not swell that ego of his up any more than it already is."

Before Shou could reply, a light swish of some kind dropped down in between them and Shou very nearly jumped out of his skin. He calmed down a second later when the swirl of clothes resolved itself into Warrior Tenjoin's brother. He held an elegantly crafted lute in his hands and carried a delighted smile on his lips.

"Hey! I don't know if we've properly met before. I'm Bard Tenjoin Fubuki!" He started to hold out his lute, pulled it back, released one hand from it, and held the now free hand out. "And you're Marufuji Ryou, Consort to Lord Phoenix, Champion, and the one who killed Brron with a Cyber End Dragon to the face. Right?"

Ryou nodded, eying this newcomer cautiously. But then the bard turned toward Shou.

"And you're Marufuji Shou, who survived all that Brron could throw at him and lived to tell the tale, and who even had the courage to try to kill the monster. That's more than a lot of people would've had, trust me on that!"

Fubuki strummed his lute. "Would you guys want to talk to me about what's been going on with your lives? This whole downfall of Brron is going to make a _marvelous_ ballad. I'm thinking of a whole cycle of them, in fact, and it would feature the two of you, since you're both so involved in it."

Shou shook his head, not quite believing what he'd just heard. "You should talk to my brother, not me. I didn't do anything." No matter how often people told him that surviving Brron was an accomplishment in and of itself, he didn't believe it. How could just _surviving_ , being humble enough so that you weren't _worth_ killing be an accomplishment? He hadn't _done_ anything.

"Hey, who's the songwriter here?" Fubuki pointed a finger at him. "If I say that you've got something interesting to tell, then I'm probably right. Besides, talking about it could help you, too. Not a good idea to keep that kind of stuff inside of you. It gets all over the inside of your mind and you don't want Brron inside your mind, do you?"

Shou shuddered violently, shaking his head. He'd managed to survive, sure enough, and he refused to let Brron back inside of his head. Surviving wasn't that much, but it was what he had, and he wasn't going to stop it. Besides, he'd kind of promised Ryou that he'd live, and that meant… well… living.

Fubuki settled himself into one of the empty chairs on the balcony and watched the sparring below. When he spoke again, his voice warmed with fondness.

"I think I've kind of talked her into staying here for a little while longer. We're not expected back at home any time soon, anyway, but I want to get this song cycle started, at least, and she's enjoying things like that." He indicated the sparring. "We'd probably have to talk to that Johan guy to see if there are any positions open here, but if there are..."

Shou really couldn't imagine what it would be like to _want_ to stay here. He'd heard a few stories of his own about what Lord Phoenix's realm was like, and he wanted to go there.

He wanted more than he had a right to, and he still tried so hard to keep it wrapped up inside of him. He'd get to go there. He didn't have to want it, it would happen anyway. He could save his wanting for things that mattered. Even if he didn't quite know what those things were yet.

Fubuki kept talking and Shou let it wash all over him, closing his eyes and trying for some more rest. He could fall asleep almost anywhere these days, though his strength did grow day by day. He wanted to get strong enough to have an actual talk with Kenzan; finding out that his old village playmate had become a _shapeshifter_ startled him out of half a year's growth at the very least.

Meeting Kenzan again had been a surprise in and of itself. But there he'd been when Shou woke up, toothy grin all over his face, and Shou did what he could to understand it.

What other kinds of things would turn up in his life, he wondered? With so much unfolding, he could only wonder, and hope they were as good as what had already begun to happen.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Notes:** One chapter left to go. And there are so many stories in this world to tell. Which I knew when I started, which is why I made it a series.


	30. Chapter 30

**Word Count:** chapter: 1,044||story: 34,554|| **Chapters:** 30/30

* * *

In the days since Brron's defeat and Rune's ascension to command in the castle, everything there had been more or less like a holiday. There were still stresses and problems to be dealt with, but Shou didn't have to worry about those. Or rather, everyone told him that he didn't have to worry about them. He only needed to concentrate on getting better.

That didn't stop him from hearing the stories about how Lord Phoenix and Warrior Asuka teamed up to not just spar against one another, but to go up against a would-be revolution led by one of Brron's former underlings. Two stood up against many and the two returned, tired and drained and with battle injuries, but alive.

What surprised Shou about that more than anything was that it was Imp who told him of it. The little monster flopped back into his life a couple of days after he and Ryou met Fubuki on the balcony, introduced himself to the bard as he kept asking questions of the brothers, and insisted that he'd been with Brron for years and could tell anything that Fubuki wanted to know, and would in exchange for food.

Clearly Imp's loyalty to anyone was forged by whoever fed him last. That didn't surprise Shou at all. And at least now Imp didn't dig those nails into him. He could get along without that.

Rumors ran rampant everywhere in a castle, something Shou had known since soon after coming there, and rumors sometimes resolved themselves into facts: such as the imminent arrival of Johan and his affianced Haou.

Or was Johan affianced to Haou? Shou couldn't get the protocol for it sorted. No one else seemed to care, anyway, but it kept his mind occupied.

Imp himself brought in word on the day of the arrival. They still remained a short distance away, an hour or so, as everyone burst into frantic activity to have everything cleared up and a feast awaiting the most powerful of the warlords of the world.

Every rumor Shou ever heard about Haou spoke of his ruthlessness, his unyielding determination, and the way he disposed of those who stood against him with little more than a wave of one hand. No one even knew where he'd come from. He'd risen to power only a handful of years earlier, and if anyone knew what he looked like underneath his black armor, they'd never mentioned it where Shou might hear of it.

One thing did whisper around, though: tales of Haou's golden eyes. Eyes of burning, searing gold, that focused on one and spoke eloquently of death to those who dared to stand against him.

Just the mention of them made Shou shudder and he could not see how Johan would want to marry such a person. But apparently he did, and now they arrived for the ceremony itself.

Everyone stood before the castle to await the new arrivals. A plume of dust in the distance heralded them. Ryou and Shou had both recovered enough strength so they could join the waiting crowd. Tingles of fear-sweat and nervous-sweat pooled in his back.

In due course, the plume resolved itself into a large carriage, pulled by a pair of fine horses. In front of the carriage there flew a green-armored warrior with fine white wings and beside him there galloped or flew – Shou didn't know which word to use – Johan's beautiful Sapphire Pegasus. There were other guardians to all sides and a small guard contingent bringing up the rear. All in all, a suitable escort for Haou and Johan.

The carriage drew to a halt in front of the castle and the winged warrior stood by the carriage door.

"Haou-sama, Johan-sama, we have arrived," he announced, opening the door.

Johan stepped out first, as brilliant as Shou remembered him, if not more so. He bounced out and ran right over to his brother, caring not a whit for dignity, and hugged him.

"Don't _you_ look fine!" Johan said, grinning. "Running things suits you."

Rune chuckled, giving Johan an examining look of his own. "And I see he's treated you well."

"What would you expect?" Johan turned back to the carriage as an armored figure emerged.

Shou shivered at the sight as the most feared warlord of them all turned toward them. Then he reached up and slid his helmet off, tucking it underneath his arm.

"I'm still mad that you guys went ahead and finished Brron off without me," Haou said, and at the sound of his voice, Shou's jaw dropped, all but brushing his knees.

Ryou shrugged. "It turned out to be necessary. I claimed blood-right on him after what he did to Shou, anyway."

"That's right..." Haou turned toward Shou and what little bit of restraint Shou had slid away as he got a good look at Haou's features.

His eyes weren't gold. His features were older and sharper and more mature with the passing of years, but Shou still remembered him, and now he recognized him.

His voice choked in his throat. He wanted to say something so much, but it was Haou who broke the silence.

"It's been a long time since I saw you. I wasn't even sure if it really _was_ you when I heard about what was going on here. But it is."

Haou stepped toward him and from Shou's throat there emerged a tiny, unbelieving squeak that might've been a name. He swallowed again and tried again.

"J-Ju-Ju-" He couldn't make it. The word wouldn't leave his lips. But Haou smiled anyway and held one hand out to Shou, who showed no inclination to take it. A mix of fear and anger and confusion sealed him where he was.

Then Ryou's hand landed on his shoulder and Shou looked up, wanting some kind of an answer, and his brother nodded.

"It's really him."

It was all that needed to say. The name finally wrenched itself out of Shou's lips, flavored with disbelief all the same, because how in the world could the boy that he'd known become this _warrior_ , this _leader_?

"J-Juudai?"

Yuuki Juudai gave the most cheerful of grins, one all out of keeping with his armor and his status. "That's me! How've you been?"

 **The End**

 **Notes:** There will be stories involving how Juudai rose to power, how he unlocked his power as Haou, how things resolved with Ryou, Saiou, and Edo, and ones about Fubuki and Asuka, before and after this one. Oh, and Yubel will be there too. After all, my true OT3 is Yubel/Juudai/Johan!

And I hope that you'll be there for all of those stories, no matter how long it takes me to write them.


End file.
